Bravewing
by Kristen Lyn Silver
Summary: Pandora Silverwing is less than thrilled when she broke the law with her cousin Shade. Now both of them are separated from the Silverwing colony while every bird and beast is out to get them! To make matters worst, two giant cannibal bats are stalking them! Will Pandora and Shade ever see their families again? (Story follows both book and TV series.)
1. Glimpse of the Sun

**Disclaimer - In this fanfiction I have made quite a lot of changes while sticking to the original plot. Nocterna is not in this fanfiction and I might leave out others as well. But I'm also adding oc's and other new characters. Either way, it's only a fanfiction and if you do not like it, no one is forcing you to read this. I do not own any of the Silverwing characters except my oc, Pandora Silverwing.**

Chapter 1 Glimpse of the Sun

The wind blew through my fur as I gracefully glided through the air. The full moon was aglow, shinning off my silver wings. I smoothly angled my wings towards the stream, scooping up the cool refreshing water. After I had my fill, I swooped upward towards the sky, taking in the calm, beautiful, peaceful night. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the stars shone brightly and I roosted on the branch of my favorite seeder-tree to take it all in.  
' _Nothing could ruin such a perfect night'_ I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong.  
Four obnoxious bats loudly roosted next to me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Well, _they_ certainly are capable of ruining a perfect night. Chinook, Todd, Breeze and Yara were newborns just like me (But way more annoying). Chinook is the strongest most popular newborn in the colony. Todd is slightly plump and never more than a wingbeat from Chinook. Breeze and Yara were so close they could be sisters. The three of them would fly above the tree line in a thunderstorm if Chinook told them to.  
"Oh, hey there Pandora, didn't see you there." Chinook pretended to be surprised.  
I huffed, Chinook was always bragging about himself, and when he does, he wants as many bats as possible to listen. He probably saw me and decided to remind us all how much better he is then the rest of us.  
"I can't wait till we go to Stonehold," Chinook began, "When we meet my dad you'll see how awesome he is, he puts all other males to shame!"  
"Without a doubt!" Todd agreed nodding his head furiously.  
I gritted my teeth. It ceases to amaze me how much they looked up to that phony. All Chinook ever talked about was his muscles or his latest heroic feats. I was about to fly off when another newborn, Shade, wizzed by us in pursuit of a tiger moth. Shade is the closest friend I had in the colony. He's a very nice bat to talk to, but the other newborns sometimes bulled him because of his size. Right now he was chasing one of the rarest catches to newborns, a tiger moth. They were so hard to catch because they messed with your echolocation.  
I decided to watch Shade chase his prize. Shade was a runt, his wings were smaller and he was shorter than most newborns. I knew how much it would mean to him if he caught the flying delicacy.  
"Come on, Shade! You can do it!" I cheered. Shade quickly flashed me a grateful smile as the others noticed the show. Chinook wasn't happy to see that he was losing the attention of his fanclub.  
The moth tried to loose the determined bat as it flew in a narrow space between two trees. However thanks to the size of Shades wings, he was easily able maneuver through the narrow trees.  
Without warning, Chinook dropped from the branch and went over to Shade and his prey.  
My blood boiled when I realized what Chinook was up to.  
Shade opened his mouth wide, about to bite down on the rare meal…or so he thought. At the last second Chinook swooped the precious moth in his teeth. Shade spun out of control from the wind speed Chinook created when he rushed by him. Chinook landed on the branch across from us, displaying a cocky grin on his smug face.  
"Woo-hoo! Way to go Chinook!" Todd yelled. Breeze and Yara quickly joined in, "Who the bat? You the bat!" "Cool technique!"  
"I know," Chinook replied, swelling in pride, "That was number two tonight."  
"That was number two tonight? No! Your incredible." Yara was in awe.  
Shade landed next to Chinook and glared at the bat who chew vigorously on his would-be meal.  
"This is fabulous by the way," he made exaggerated smacking sounds. "Well maybe you'll get lucky one of these nights runt."  
 _'Here we go'_ I glowered at egotistical bat.  
The other bats began to laugh as Shade clenched his fists.  
"He would have got it, if you didn't steal it from him." I snapped.  
"Could'a would'a should'a," he turned towards  
the others, "Now where was I before I was _forced_ to eat yet another tiger moth?"  
Shade and I huffed.  
"You were telling us about your dad?" Breeze was practically begging him to continue with his far-fetched story.  
"Oh yeah," Chinook went on with his story, "When we get to hiba-hiber"-  
"Hibernaculum." Shade muttered.  
"Yeah, that," he didn't even give one glance at Shade, "You'll see how big he is," he flared his wings up to their full wingspan, "He killed an owl once!"  
"Kill an owl? I don't think so," Shade snapped.  
"My father did."  
"They're too big," I crossed my arms, having enough of this.  
"A strong bat can do it easily."  
"No chance."  
"You don't know everything," he growled at us, "You've never even seen him."  
"Neither have you," I shot back.  
My last comment seemed to have caught him off guard, but he narrowed his eyes at me.  
"You saying I'm a liar?"  
It was my turn to look cocky, "You said it, so it must be true."  
Chinook's eyes blazed with fire, but before he could say anything, a few short notes of birdsong carried through the forest and we all stiffened.  
"There's the dawn chores," Yara declared unnecessarily, everyone knew what it was. "Guess we should be heading back."  
Chinook glared at me and Shade, "You better watch your mouth, you too Runt." He shoved Shade hard against the branch.  
I glanced at Shade as his fur bristled from the name Runt. He was definitely not going to let that go anytime soon.  
"Let's fly!" Chinook ordered as he roughly shoved Shade and me out of his way. Chinook, Todd, Breeze and Yara began flying towards Tree Haven (the colony's nursery roost).  
I was just about take off from the roost when Shade surprised us all.  
"Yeah, go ahead," Shade casually yawned, "I'm just going to take a peek at the sun."  
I clumsily fell off the branch and the others bumped into one anther in mid air as we all did a double take.  
I flew over and landed next to Shade as the others did the same.  
"What are you talking about?" Chinook scoffed.  
Yara shook her head, "You can't look at the sun."  
"I thought I'd give it try."  
It was the first and most important rule every newborn was told. Over every single rule in the colony, this was the one you never _ever_ broke. You must _never_ look at the sun.  
"It'll blind you," Todd replied with relish, "Burn your eyeballs right out of your head."  
"Then turn you to dust!" Breeze added.  
I placed a wing on Shade's shoulder, "Shade, I like them as much as you do, but they have a point. Think about how much trouble that can get you into."  
"And then there're the owls," Yara looked around, "We should get going."  
In the distance we all could hear the mothers calling their children back to tree haven.  
"Just a quick peek," he told the others, glancing at the brightening sky, "Won't be long."  
"Your so weird," Todd stated, but there it was, that look of admiration I knew Shade had been craving for. This was the most attention that any of the other newborns had ever gave him.  
"He's not going to see the sun," Chinook sneered, "He's just saying that."  
"I'll tell you about when I get back to Tree Haven," Shade remarked casually, "Unless you want to come along, Chinook."  
I have to admit, it was a satisfying moment of silence as the three of them looked expectantly at their hero. Shade had challenged him, and Chinook knew it. He glanced around nervously.  
"Well, never mind," Shade chimed cheerfully ready to light from his roost.  
"Wait! I'm coming," Chinook answered, and then, more fiercely, "I'm coming with you."  
"Shade," I tried to stop him, "Think about what you're doing."  
"Don't worry, we wont be long," and with that, he flew off to a higher branch, with Chinook following close behind.  
I sighed. On one wing, I didn't want to get in trouble. On the other, I couldn't leave Shade out here.  
I grumbled as I went to join Shade and Chinook. Maybe I can get them to see reason.

I landed next to Shade, who was waiting for the sun.  
"Pandora? What are you doing here?"  
I crossed my arms at Shade, "No matter how crazy this is, you're my best friend, so I'm not going back to Tree Haven without you."  
Shade sported at cocky grin, "I am?"  
I huffed, not answering.  
Chinook broke the silence, "What about the owls?"  
I knew he was just trying to scare us, but was that fear in his voice?  
"What do you care?" Shade smirked, "According to _you_ bats can kill owls."  
"What if it turns us to dust?" Chinook asked, ignoring Shade's last comment.  
"It doesn't turn anything else to dust." Shade was eating this up. For once, Chinook was actually listening to him for a change.  
"My mom told me the last bat that saw the sun, all his teeth, bones, wings, just a pile of dust."  
"Just a story," Shade brushed it off.  
We sat in silence. The sky was growing lighter, and there wasn't a star in the sky now.  
"Hey, I have an idea," Chinook began, "We can go back and tell the others we saw it. We'll keep it a secret, ok?"  
This was too good. Here was Chinook, asking Shade for something. I looked to Shade, hoping that he would agree. Wrong again.  
"Go ahead," Shade wanted his victory without any compromise.  
The sky was growing bright in the east now, brighter then we have ever seen it. I squinted from the slight pain behind my eyes.  
"It's almost here," Shade muttered.  
Chinook began to shift his wings nervously.  
"Shhh," I hissed at them, "Over there." I tilled my chin.  
In a nearby tree, almost hidden by the leaves…was an owl.  
I was afraid, but I didn't think the owl saw us. Even if he had, he knew he wasn't allowed to attack us until the sun had risen. It was the law. I doubted Chinook knew this, the only reason I do was because Shade and me overheard a couple of elder's talk about it.  
A horrible, fur-lifting hoot came from the owl. Then silently, the owl lifted from his perch and flew off into the forest.  
"I-I cant," Chinook raced back to Tree Haven.  
Even though the owl was gone, I kept my voice at a low whisper.  
"Ok Shade, you won your stupid game, now lets go."  
He didn't say anything at first, but when he did, I couldn't believe my ears.  
"But, I _want_ to see the sun."  
I stared at him speechless. No matter how much I wanted to fly back, I couldn't leave him here. My attention was turned back to the east. A band off white light spread from the tree line.  
I had to turn away from how bright it was, and found myself staring at a wall of dense feathers. Slowly and fearfully, I looked up into the huge hooded eyes of an owl. Shade turned and saw the owl too. The owl's eyes held on us, until it eerily tilted its head towards the horizon, checking for the sun.  
Without thinking, I rammed into Shade, pushing him off the branch.  
"Shade," I hissed, "Fly."  
Without hesitation, Shade and me raced back to Tree Have, with the owl following leisurely. The sun had not yet broken the horizon.  
We winded though trees, we flew low over the creek, we soared over the tree line, but the owl was still there.  
I suddenly felt a pleasant warmth on my wings, and I suck in my breath, "The sun."  
I couldn't help it. The temptation was too strong. I looked back…and glimpsed the sun.  
Tree Haven wasn't far now.  
A tiny sliver of pure light dazzled the valley. It was so beautiful, so warm, so powerful, it took the breath right out of me.  
We dove under the tree line, the owl's talons nearly piecing my wing. It whizzed past Shade, nearly grabbing him in its filthy claws.  
"Pandora," Shade yelled, "Grab the branch!"  
He grabbed a long skinny branch, pulling it back. I quickly realized his plan and helped him. We waited for just the right moment.  
"Now!" I shouted.  
We released the branch and it hit the owl squarely in the chest.  
Using what little time this had bought us, we rushed to Tree Haven, and dove inside a knothole. Safe in the darkness.


	2. Tree Haven

**Disclaimer I do not own Silverwing or any of it's characters. I only own my oc, Pandora Silverwing.**

Chapter 2 Tree Haven  
As we burst through the knothole, the bats roosting by the entrance looked over fearfully. Outside, the owl screeched in rage as it clawed the tree once, twice, before it flew away. I place a claw on the wall to steady myself, trying to calm my racing heart. Shade turned to me, displaying a triumphant grin.  
"That was some escape, huh?"  
Every ounce of fear that was in me was instantly demolished by anger. Shade noticed how I was glaring at him and asked possibly the stupidest thing he ever asked me in his life.  
"What?"  
"What?! I'll tell you what!" my anger exploded on him, "We nearly _died_ , and all for what? A mere peek at the sun?"  
Before Shade could respond, Shade's mother, Ariel and my mother, Angela rushed towards us. The two were sisters, so that made Shade my cousin. Ariel has dark purple wings and orange red hair and mane. My mom has dark blue wings and has hazel brown hair and mane. Ariel wrapped her wings around her son, while mom did the same with me.  
Ariel and mom turned urgently to us, their eyes shone with anger. Mom was the first to speak.  
"Why did you do that?"  
"What happened?" Ariel asked.  
Shade looked away and I stared at the floor. I was aware nearby bats were staring at us, felt the fur burn across my face. Shade spoke softly, "Nothing…"  
Wrong answer.  
"Nothing?!" Mom fumed, not bothering to lower her voice, "That owl nearly killed you two!"  
"It was a childish thing, a dangerous thing," Ariel raged, "It was foolishness like this that got your father killed."  
This caught Shade of guard and he was silent for a minute before he asked urgently, "He wanted to see the sun?"  
Shade and I never heard much about Shade's dad, Cassil. All we anyone knew about his death, was that last spring Cassil was out one night and he never came back. It was believed the owls got him.  
Ariel nodded, suddenly very weary. "Yes. He was always talking about it. Because he was too curious, -no, because he was too headstrong, too stubborn, because he wouldn't think." Ariel's anger surged back, "I will not lose my son and my mate in the same year, I will not stand for it!"  
Mom turned to me, her anger beyond obvious, "You are grounded young lady! We will talk about this more later."  
Just then, Todd, Breeze and Yara flew over to a ledge, just above us.  
Todd smirked at us, "You two are in so much guano! Chinook's grounded for a week!"  
"Why?" Shade muttered, "He didn't do anything, the chickenwing."  
"So Shade, Pandora," Yara asked in a low voice, "Did you guys see it? The…you know?"  
Before we could say anything, an angry voice bellowed though the air, "Todd!"  
The mothers of Todd, Breeze, Yara and Chinook glared angrily at us. Todd's mother pointed the other way, "Roost!"  
Without hesitation, Todd took off towards his roost with Yara and Breeze right behind him-they certainly didn't need to be told the same thing.  
Yara's mother pointed accusingly at us, "Ariel, Angela, this has gone to far."  
"Far to far!" Breeze's mom interjected.  
Chinooks mom roosted in front of us, "Keep those law breakers away from my baby!"  
Shade chuckled, "That's a laugh."  
"Shade," Ariel scolded him, "Roost! Now."  
Mom folded her arms, "You too, Pandora."  
Hanging my head in shame, I flew up to my roost. When mom came back, I was scolded for reckless and foolish behavior.

"Pst!"  
A sharp sound woke mom and me from our sleep. We looked up to see the colonies messenger, Mercury, watching us from above our roost.  
"What is it?" mom whispered, careful not to wake anyone.  
"You're both alright?"  
"Yes."  
"The counsel of elders have met. They're anxious to speak with you."  
"Stay here." mom told me.  
"They asked for you to bring your daughter."  
I shared a quick look with my mother. This was the first time I ever got in trouble, I was always careful to obey the rules. And now the one time I am in trouble the elders want to see me? Peachy. Mercury launched himself into the air and I followed after mom, back up the trunk. Halfway up, he asked us to wait while he went for Ariel and Shade. They soon joined us. Both seemed to be as nervous as mom and I felt. As we passed countless passageways and were nearing the upper reaches of the tree now, a queasy feeling in my stomach refused to go away. Newborns were never allowed to go this high. The central trunk came to a blunt end, but Mercury led us into a branch that veered straight upward.  
The four of us landed on a ledge below the elders, Ariel wrapped a wing around her son while mom placed a claw on my shoulder in comfort.  
Mercury flew up to Frieda and whispered something in her ear before flying off to a small crevice in the shadows, ready if called upon.  
Aurora, Bathsheba, Lucretia and Frieda are the four elders of the colony. Everyone knew their names, but this was the closest I've ever been to them. Frieda was the chief elder, she's the oldest of all the silverwings but no one really knew exactly how old she is. Covered in silvery hair, she looked ancient and mysterious, but the most mysterious thing about Frieda was a small metal band around her left forearm. No other silverwing has one. Shade and I asked our mothers about it, but they just shook their heads and told us they didn't know, and no one seemed to care. Frieda gracefully glided down to a ledge just above us, followed by the other elders.  
"Shade and Pandora Silverwing, step forward." Frieda pointed a wing at us.  
Timidly, we took a few steps towards the elders.  
"You have broken the most ancient law of our colony," Frieda spoke again, "Do you have an explanation?"  
Mom came and put her wings around me, "They didn't mean any harm, it was just youthful exuberance and curiosity, they only"-  
"Curiosity that will be the ruin of this colony." Bathsheba interrupted with a harsh voice that put me on edge, "The owls will feel cheated and will want justice, and quite frankly who can blame them?"  
"Silence." Frieda calmly but sternly told Bathsheba at which she fell silent. Turning her gaze to Shade and I, she asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"  
Ariel rushed to her son, "No, no they don't, they're just children."  
But Shade boldly spoke up, "Yes, I do."  
Ariel took a step back to let her son speak.  
"The law is…wrong."  
At this Ariel and mom gasped.  
Bathsheba sounded outraged, _"What?"_  
"Shade," Ariel tried to quiet him.  
"Let the boy speak." Frieda told her calmly.  
"Listen you insolent upstarts," Bathsheba growled at us, "That law guarantees our very existence!"  
"Bathsheba," Frieda warned the elder, at which she fell silent again. Frieda then turned to Shade, "Go on."  
"Well, Pandora and I didn't turn into dust," Shade began, "And it's really my fault she's in trouble. It was me who wanted to see the sun, I talked Chinook into it and Pandora was too worried to go back to Tree Haven without me. If it weren't for her, the owl would have got me."  
Frieda turned her gaze upon me. "Is this true?"  
I nodded my head and spoke softly, a little nervous at everyone's gazes, "Yes. I couldn't go back to Tree Haven without him."  
"But the sun hardly came up at all," Shade continued, "so I don't see why the owls were so upset. I'm sorry I've caused all this trouble, but what's wrong with bats seeing the sun? The only reason we can't be out in the daylight is because of the owls. It's unfair."  
"I've heard enough." Frieda calmly exclaimed.  
"Indeed," Bathsheba sneered, "We have no choice but to hand the lawbreakers over to the owls."  
"What?!" My mother held me tight, "No!"  
Ariel was horrified too, "Frieda, please"-  
Bathsheba went on as if she was the only one talking, "And we should do it now before the owls come for them!" She pointed her claw at Shade and me. But Frieda raised her wings in defiance.  
" _I_ will take appropriate action at the appropriate time."  
Bathsheba appeared as if she would protest, but instead glowered and crossed her wings.  
Frieda softly gazed on the four of us, "Thank you Ariel, Angela, Shade, Pandora, rest well."  
We went back to our roosts after humbly bowing our heads and saying our good byes.  
"Wash up." My mom told me when we got back to our roost.  
I began to lick the dust and grit off my wings. The owl seemed like such a long time ago, but there was no way I could ever forget the wickedly sharp beak, those eyes that bore though your soul, and the unbelievably sharp talons that could slice a bat in half.  
"I really did see the sun you know."  
She nodded curtly.  
"Aren't you interested?"  
"No."  
"Are you still mad at me?"  
"No. What you did, you did for family. But I want you to promise me something."  
"Hmm?"  
"No matter who it is, no matter what's at stake, please promise that you will never put yourself in harms way again." She looked at me lovingly, "I love you and I don't want to lose you."  
I didn't want disobey her, but I didn't want to make a promise I might break. I just nodded.  
There was a slight pause before Chinooks words came back to me.  
"Mom, can a bat kill an owl?"  
"No," she answered, "No bat can."  
"Right," I nodded, "They're to big. There's no way any bat could do it." Another thought came to me.  
"What does dad look like?"  
Mother smiled, "He's very tall, with slightly purple wings. You get your purple wings from him, but you have my sky blue eyes and hazel brown hair."  
"What's he like?"  
"A lot like you, actually. He's always concerning over others, no matter what the stakes are. He has a loving heart too."  
I thought about him, wondering what he's going to be like. His name is Stephen.  
"Here," she began to comb the mane on my back, "You've got a big dirty patch."  
I sighed and relaxed as my mother combed though my fur again and again. I felt safe and warm and happy. But as I closed my eyes, the image of the rising sun, that dazzling sliver of light, still burned in my eyes.

I was ashamed of what I've done, which was more than I could say for Shade. We soon realized we were famous, at least among the newborns. The very next evening, Breeze, Yara and several others demanded we retell our adventure with the owl and Shade was more than happy to oblige. We told it together, but every now and then, Shade would juice it up a bit with a few made up details. Chinook stayed away, Todd too. His withdrawal from the dare probably hit him right in his ego.  
Soon the roost emptied as everyone left for the nights hunting, and Shade and I had to stay behind. We were grounded. We had to stay in Tree Haven with all the bats who were too old and feeble to do much hunting. For one hour at midnight we were allowed to go out and feed, but even then our moms would be right beside us. We didn't mind this much since we would be leaving Tree Haven in a couple of nights for the journey anyway. Our punishment would soon be over.  
Shade and I were roosted next to each other joking about Chinook's mom calling him her 'baby' when we felt a rush of air around us, and looked up to see Frieda roosting next to us.  
"Tell me about the sun."  
My throat felt dry. She stared at us with those piercing eyes. Her wings creaked as she folded them against her body and a musty smell came from her. The smell of age I supposed. But she gave us a friendly smile, and the butterflies left my stomach. Taking turns, Shade and I told her everything we could remember about the warm dazzling light. Frieda listened carefully, nodding now and then.  
"You've seen it too, haven't you?" Shade asked impulsively.  
"Yes, I have. A long time ago."  
"It's round isn't it," I asked, "like the moon?"  
"Yes, but bigger."  
I shook my head in amazement. I couldn't imagine the brightness of it.  
"You wanted to see it then, like me?" Shade asked.  
She nodded. "When I was younger a lot of us did. Some were willing to die for it. Not like now. They don't care. In many ways they are wise. Look at what almost happened to your dad. Look at what happened to you and Pandora."  
"How come we're not allowed to see it," I asked, "I know it's the law, but why?"  
"We're banished creatures, Pandora, and have been for thousands of years."  
"Banished?"  
"Punished. Sent away."  
"For what," Shade shrugged, "What did we do?"  
"It's more of what we didn't do. It would be easier if you hear for yourself. Come with me."


	3. The Echo Chamber

Chapter 3 The Echo Chamber

Only yesterday Shade and I had traveled to Tree Havens very peak, now Frieda was leading us down to the very depths. I marveled at the mere size of the tree as we spiraled deeper and deeper into the trunk. Down, down, down until we reached the mossy bottom. I was aware of how much cooler it was, and the strong cent of wood and soil. There was a small archway of gnarled wood, which Frieda was scuttling towards on all fours.  
"Here we are." Frieda announced up ahead.  
The floor of the tunnel fell away, and I was more than happy to spread my wings open and swoop down into a large cave. But I tensed and faltered in the air. I heard voices. So many voices. They were barely above a whisper, but loud enough I could hear them. I could tell Shade heard it too, he faltered in mid air and his ears were twitching wildly like mine. We shared a nervous glance.  
"Who's down there?" he asked the elder.  
"Nobody. I'll show you."  
"But I hear voices." I protested.  
"You'll see," Frieda grinned, "This way."  
Frieda led us deeper still, down to the bottom of the cave, then roosted on a narrow ledge. In a small niche in the hard stone, I saw a panel of mud and mulched up leaves. And the voices were coming from right behind it.  
"Quickly." Frieda instructed, and pushed though the soft center of the panel with her nose.  
We found ourselves in a surprisingly small, round room. All around me, the voices crept upon us, like the very air its self.  
"Fold your wings tight," Frieda carefully closed the panel, "And stay still."  
Shade and I barely breathed. Still, the voices sounded far away, but I could hear them better as they swirled about.  
"…in the winter of that year…"  
"…owls took revenge…"  
"…15 newborns died…"  
"…rebellion was crushed after the battle…"  
It was then that I realized the voices were mere echoes, bouncing of the walls.  
"See how smooth the walls are?" Frieda whispered, "It took generations to hollow them out, polish them. But it had to be smooth or else the echoes would never bounce back and be lost to us."  
"What's it for?" Shade asked.  
"This is the history of the Silverwing colony," explained Frieda, "Every year, one of the elders sings the years story to the walls, and there they stay."  
"How do you listen to one at a time?" Shade whispered.  
"It takes a certain talent," Frieda continued, "Not everyone can do it, but I have a feeling about you two…here, let me help." We watch as she swiveled her ears around, "Yes, here it is, the oldest story of our colony…catch it now…concentrate…"  
Shade and I moved to where Frieda was, a voice so clear, so consuming, we jerked our heads back in shock.  
"It's an odd feeling, isn't it? It's all right, try again."  
We tensed as the sound flowed though us, but this time, held on.  
"Long ago," a female voice sang, "Thousands and thousands of years ago, the world was a dark and empty place. There was nothing except the Great Creator. He spoke into the darkness and created the light. And He separated the light from the darkness. He called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night."  
The words faded away, and without warning my mind was filled with pictures. At the same time, Shade and I gasped and pressed our ears tight.  
"What happened?" I asked Frieda.  
"Echo pictures," the elder told us patiently, "With practice its possible to sing pictures into bats' heads."  
I closed my eyes as Shade did the same. I let the picture fill my head.  
The beginning of the world, I was watching it. I couldn't see the Great Creator, but I could hear Him, calling the world into existence. His voice was nothing like I had ever heard, filled with power, patience, love, mercy and might. It took him only six days to create everything. A perfect world. But before the seventh day, I saw him form something out of dust. It was an odd sight, really. But then the dust began to transform, and in no time at all, a man was formed. It was amazing, I've never seen a human in my life, I've only heard stories about them. Next the pictures changed, I was watching two humans watching a tree. One of them was the man I saw earlier and the other was a female. It wasn't until I looked closer did I realize they weren't staring at the tree, but a creature _next_ to the tree. I had no idea what it was, but it seemed to be talking to the humans. The humans began to eat a fruit from the tree, then the pictures changed again.  
I saw the world again, but it had changed. It wasn't as beautiful as it was before.  
The female bat voice that spoke earlier came back, "After humans let sin into the world, nothing was the same again. Many arguments and disputes rose among the animal kingdom. Eventually, the Battle of the birds and the beasts began. For years the war went on, but we bats refused to take sides. So when war finally ended, a treaty was forged. The beasts blamed their defeat on us, and the birds labeled us as cowards. As punishment, the birds and the beasts banished us to the darkness of the night. For thousands of years we flew in the night, never to glimpse the sun again. But the Great Creator was angry his creation turned on one another. And so He gave us a gift. The Promise."  
There was a brief silence, and then:  
"Long ago, thousands and thousands of years ago, the world was a dark and empty place…"  
The message had come to a full circle, and I shifted my head out of the echo stream as Shade did the same.  
I turned to Frieda, my mind a tangle of questions. Shade spoke up first.  
"We didn't do anything!" his eyes wide in disbelief, "That's how we got stuck with the law? That is so unfair."  
"What's the Promise?" I asked Frieda. Every newborn had been told about the Great Creator, who made everything.  
"He promised that there will come a time, when bats can fly in broad daylight without worrying about the claws of the owls or the jaws of the beast."  
"When will that happen?"  
"No one knows," Frieda sighed, "Maybe not even in my lifetime." She paused, "But I think it will be sooner than that."  
"How come?" Shade asked.  
"Because of this," Frieda pulled back her wings and her band shimmered silver. Shade and I sucked in our breaths.  
"How did you get it?" I softly asked.  
"The humans gave it to me when I was young. Not much older than you really. There were a couple of us in the forest one night, when they took hold of us. They fastened the bands on us then let us go. I think it's a sign. A sign of the promise to come."  
"May I?" I humbly asked.  
"Yes, of course," Frieda replied extending her forearm.  
I placed a claw on the delicate tiny making that covered the band.  
"Did the humans give bands to anyone else?" Shade asked.  
"Not for a long time," Frieda answered thoughtfully, "But two winters ago, they came back, and banded some males."  
"My father?" Shade barely asked above a whisper.  
"Ariel told you, did she?"  
"No," he looked down, "She doesn't talk about him much."  
"I know that she never agreed with his views. And she wants to protect you Shade. She might not have told the whole truth, but try not to be angry with her."  
There was a slight pause before I asked something that's been on my mind.  
"Why did you show us all this?"  
Frieda warmly smiled at us, "You two are not like the others. You both have a kind of brightness I don't want smothered. Shade, you are curious. You want to know things. Pandora, you have a good heart. You're loyal to your friends and family. The both of you are good listeners too. You'll hear far more than anyone else can."  
I flushed at the compliment. There was so many more things I wanted to asked her, but there was a fluttering of wings outside the echo chamber and I heard Mercury's voice.  
"Frieda," the messenger urgently called out, "The owls are coming. And they have fire."


	4. Ablaze

Chapter 4 Ablaze

Frieda, Shade, Mercury and I anxiously circled over the peak of Tree Haven, watching the owls fly towards us. There had to be at least 45 of them, flying in an arrowhead formation, their powerful wings beat silently and deadly. In their horrible sharp claws they clutched thin sticks, the ends glowing evilly. Fire. We stared in horror.  
Only the owls had fire. Hundreds of years ago, they stole some from the humans and kept it burning in secret nests, deep in the forest.  
"Mercury," Frieda said with amazing calmness, "Go tell everyone in the forest to stay and take cover there. There is to be no fighting."  
Without hesitation, Mercury speed off. Frieda turned to us.  
"Shade, Pandora, I need the both of you to evacuate the roost."  
We hurried inside the old tree and split up, I took the bottom half while he took the top. We cried out, "Clear the roost! Clear the roost!"  
After making sure we didn't miss a single passage, we flew back outside to Frieda.  
Sweat covered every inch of me.  
"Everyone's out," I panted.  
"Good." answered Frieda, staring at the owls. One owl detached himself from the others and began a slow decent. I noticed he was the only one without fire.  
"Go take cover in the forest with the others." Frieda commanded.  
We obediently flew off and roosted on the nearest tree next to Tree Haven. We roosted side by side, intently watching Frieda and the huge owl, now settling in front of her at a respectful distance on Tree Haven's peek.  
"General Brutus," Frieda greeted in a respectful nod.  
"Frieda Silverwing." The owl's voice was deep like a roll of thunder.  
"You've brought soldiers and fire, Brutus. Why?"  
"You know perfectly well why. I've come for the two bats that saw the sun."  
I shuddered. Shade gulped. We held in our breaths as we waited for Frieda's reply. She seemed so small next to the owl.  
"You cannot wage war against us at night, Brutus. That is the law."  
I was aware of hundreds of eyes glued to Frieda and Brutus, wondering how this would end.  
"The law has already been broken," Brutus sneered, "Give the lawbreakers to me, so we can settle this."  
My fur crawled, and Shade scooted a little closer to me.  
"No." Frieda answered without showing the slightest trace of fear.  
"Do as I say." Brutus growled.  
"I will not." Frieda held her ground.  
"Frieda, such a decision jeopardizes the balance of nature."  
"Brutus," Frieda sighed, "You and I have flown in this forest for far to long. You don't really believe that two young bats, glimpsing the sun will upset the balance of nature do you? Look into your heart."  
The owl's feathers ruffled in annoyance, "I will not be manipulated. Emotions have no place among the law."  
"Let the owls take them!" Bathsheba yelled as she flew out of the forest and landed by Frieda, "Brutus is right. Those two newborns have broken the law, they must pay the price!"  
I noticed the eyes of other bats staring at us. I pressed myself against the bark, my fur burning under their gaze. Did they want Shade and I to give ourselves up? Was that it?  
"You know I am right, Frieda," Bathsheba went on, "The lives of two mere bats protects us all." She pointed a gnarled claw at Shade and I, "Let the owls take them!"  
My face paled and my heart threatened to pound right out of my chest as Brutus turned his blazing eyes at us. I will never forget the look of utter hatred that flared though those eyes.  
I searched around with my echolocation, trying to locate mom. I found her and Ariel a few trees away, watching us with terrified eyes. I've never seen mom so afraid, and it made me sick with fear.  
I gazed back at the owls. I trembled as I realized the danger we were all in. The owls wanted a sacrifice…or else.  
A familiar gentle wing wrapped around my shoulder. I turned and saw mom and Ariel, taking a protective stance by their only children.  
"No!"  
The four of us quickly set our attention to Frieda who's wings were spread wide in anger, teeth bared not at Brutus, but at Bathsheba.  
"You forget yourself," she scolded the other bat, "Until I die, I am chief elder, not you! I am the colony's voice so hear it now. No one will take the newborns or anyone else!" She turned to face Brutus, "That is my final reply to you."  
The owl's eyes hooded, but then his beak swiveled into a devilish grin, "Very well." He flew off  
Brutus beat his wings until he was in the center of the circling owls. He stared coldly at Frieda, then shrieked, "You've given us your reply, now here is ours!"  
With a evil shriek, forty-five owls dropped from the sky. I saw Frieda and Bathsheba fling themselves clear as the owls hurled their sticks of fire at Tree Haven. Flames leapt up and the horrible smell of smoke filled the air.  
"Nooo!" Shade yelled as he dashed towards our beloved tree.  
Ariel raced after her son as a few Silverwing followed, determined to put out the flames.  
I was about to drop from the branch to go help, but mom gripped me tightly.  
"Don't you dare!" she hissed fiercely.  
"But Tree Haven"-  
"Is destroyed." Mom sadly looked down.  
I helplessly glanced back at Tree Haven. She was right. The Tree was burning to a crisp. Nothing could save it now. The bats who were trying to save it, were now in retreat. I saw Ariel dragging Shade away from the fire. Their wings were covered in black smoke from where they tried to beat out the flames.  
Tree Haven was a pillar of fire, it was burning inside out, bark crackled, ancient wood gasped. There would be no stopping it.  
As Ariel and Shade landed besides mom and I, a low chuckled made me glance a few trees away. Brutus was perched there, a horribly delighted smile spread across his face. He look me dead in the eyes and I got the message. He blamed this whole thing on Shade and me. He spread his wings out in victory while he shouted, "Justice has been served!" with that, he flew deep into the forest, his soldiers close behind.  
A cold rage consumed me. He calls burning down a colony's nursery roost 'justice'?  
Sadly I looked around. I wish I didn't see the way everyone stared at Shade and I. The looks of anger and fear, the way the mothers pulled their wings tighter around their children as if I could hurt them just by looking at them.  
I noticed that the other bats were moving away from them, shuffling to others branches or flying silently to other trees.  
"Silverwings," it was Frieda, sitting on a high branch, over looking the colony, "Since our home has been destroyed, we must strike out for Stone Hold."  
"You have betrayed us, Frieda," Bathsheba cried out, "Look at the ruins of your home, Silverwings! Do you still choose Frieda as your leader? She has let your home burn to the ground! Speak!"  
There was several mutterings and whispers of discontent though out the colony, but no ones voice spoke loud enough to stand out.  
"We have suffered a terrible loss tonight," Frieda called out, "We have lost Tree Haven, our nursery roost, but haven't lost a single Silverwing, we haven't lost a single member of our colony. So I'll say this, we can replace our roost but Ariel and Angela could not have replaced their children. All you mothers out there, who among you would have offered her child in exchange for Tree Haven? Speak up. Who?"  
A miserable silence hung in the air.  
"If I have made a wrong choice, tell me now. But as long as I am chief elder, no Silverwings will be sacrificed, no matter the cost. One life is more important than any roost. You have reason to be angry. Vent your anger on the owls who did this, not one of your own. Speak up, anyone who thinks otherwise."  
The silence stretched out.  
"We have a long journey before us," Frieda continued, "To Stone Hold to join the males, and then to Hibernaculum."  
Slowly, but with grim determination, every Silverwing rose into the air the newborns and the mothers, the old and the young. Frieda took the lead as she flew, singing a high piercing note, to blaze the trail. The four of us flew joylessly together.  
I couldn't help but take one last look at Tree Haven. Our home was gone, and it was partly my fault.

Long after the Silverwing colony left, just before dawn, Tree Haven still burned. The great branches snapped and exploded, until finally the tree toppled over, heaving its roots out of the earth and stone. If there was any bat within a thousand wing-beats, he would have heard hundreds of faint voices, streaming out of the echo chamber, their stories released at last and lost forever.


	5. Blown Away

Chapter 5 Blown Away

The Silverwing colony found a deserted barn before sunrise. It was musty and had an unpleasant smell, but it seemed safe and free of bird nests. Hanging from the high rotting beams, exhausted, most of the bats immediately fell into a deep sleep.  
Every muscle in my body ached. Never had I flown so long before. I snuggled close to my mom, the images of Tree Haven burning in my mind. Ariel and Shade roosted next to us for extra warmth, the barn was much colder than Tree Haven ever was. I shared a quick glance with Shade, I knew we were both thinking about what happened because of us.  
"It's not your fault." Mom softly whispered, as if reading our thoughts.  
"No one is going to talk to us for the rest of our lives." Shade muttered.  
"That's not true," Ariel remarked, "They'll get over it. They all saw how brave you were. You tried to save the roost. I'm proud of you."  
Long after Ariel and Shade fell asleep, I was wide-awake. I was pretty sure mom was asleep too, but she shifted a little and whispered, "Are you worried about the trip down south?"  
"A little."  
"There's nothing to worry about," mom tried to reassure me, "I'll be with you the whole time. And Frieda makes sure no one is left behind."  
"What if I do, though?"  
Mom thought for a moment.  
"Why don't I sing you a sound map?"  
"What's a sound map?"  
"Close your eyes, and concentrate."  
As I closed my eyes, I felt mom press her forehead against mine and began to sing. A brilliant silver landscape rose from the darkness: a forest, a clearing, and a high oak rising up. It was Tree Haven.  
"You can do it too!" I exclaimed, "It's just like the echo chamber!"  
"I'll teach it too you one day. Listen."  
I clamed my eyes tight, listening to the song as Tree Haven, looking as it did before the owls burned it, became smaller and smaller, fading in the distance as if I was flying away from it.  
Now the magical landscape was changing, dissolving like a thousand pinpricks of light, and suddenly reforming. I was skimming over the treetops, and then I soared over a barn below, the barn where we're roosting. I soared past it, as if I was traveling a million wing beats a second. Up ahead was a human tower. What was it? It was taller than any tree I ever saw, and there was a flashing light close to the top of it. I soon speed past it, where an incredible sight met me. I was now flying over water, but it wasn't like the water I drank from the stream, this seemed to go on and on forever. But as raced across the vast water, a rocky shore came into view, and beyond that was more towers, but they were glowing. There were so bright, it was like looking at a upside-down night sky.  
And then: a metal cross, and a hollow clanging, _bong, bong, bong._  
Everything started to go faster and faster!  
Now: Two towers side by side with fire shooting out of the tops! Next, I past a pine tree that was shaped like an arrow, then I past a cannon with caves all over it, I knew it must be Stone Hold. Now I was hurtling in-between wolf ears, then I speed over anther human building.  
Then a broad torrent of water, crashing, roaring, sending up spray.  
It ended, and I shook my head, a headache beginning to form.  
"Did you get all of it?" she asked.  
"I think so," I answered, "But what were those strange towers and"-  
"I'll explain tomorrow," She yawned, "Try to get some sleep."

Far, far away, in a human city, a single solitary maple leaf was carried through the wind. It glided into an air vent and the leaf soon exited out of an air shaft. The room it landed in was a false jungle, made as a habitat for two unique and dangerous creatures. The biggest of the two saw the leaf enter their prison and became interested by the shaft.  
"Soon we will be free." He smiled at his companion, as an escape plan began to form in his clever but sinister mind.

Since sunset we flew nonstop. I remember when we reached the strange flashing tower; mom explained that Frieda thinks the humans built the tower to navigate their boats.  
But I was more amazed by the vastness of the water. An ocean, mom called it. It gave off a bitter and salty smell, and it rolled around creating a loud crashing sound.  
After a couple of hours, it began to rain. Just small drops at first, but they grew larger until they pounded against me like sharp freezing needles.  
My fur clung to me as the pouring rain drenched me. I flew closer to my mother.  
The soreness in my wings refused to go away as every member in the colony pumped on, determined to keep flying.  
Behind me, Shade was breathlessly panting as he struggled to keep up.  
Irritable Bathsheba flew up next to Shade, who was more or less happy to see the old bat.  
"You're lagging too far behind!" Bathsheba yelled over the wind and rain, "Hang on to your mother, boy!" She flew ahead, shaking her head at Shade.  
I growled. Bathsheba thinks everything is her business.  
Ariel glided next to her son, "Cling to me, Shade!" She shouted, alarmed by how exhausted he was.  
"No," he stubbornly shook his head, "I can handle myself."  
I knew how embarrassing it would be for him to let his mom fly for both of them.  
Thunder boomed, lightning flashed, and I jumped back when a bolt of lightning nearly hit me and a few others. Quickly, I recovered, but my blood froze when Ariel screamed, "Shaaade!"  
Shade was plummeting down towards the ocean, the sudden bolt must have put him in shock! Mercury dove after him. With one meaningful glance I shared with mom, I dove after Shade.  
"Pandora!" mother called out desperately at the same time a bolt of lightning strike.  
The bolt forced Mercury to pull up, but I managed to dodge it. My heart wrenched as mother's call for me became more panicked, more desperate.  
I grabbed Shade's shoulders with my claws, flapping furiously as Shade was still frozen in shock.  
"Snap…out of it…Shade," I grunted as we fell further and further away from the colony.  
I was terrified that at any moment we would fall into the cold raging ocean.  
Still holding on to Shade, I braced myself, expecting to be consumed by the water at any time now.  
Instead, to my surprise, we crashed into something soft, sliding down on it, causing me to lose my grip on Shade. I then hit my head on a hard surface, and my vision blurred as I slipped into unconsciousness.

The two exotic bats chipped at the wall surrounding the vent. Once quite a bit was removed, they easily tore off the vent, exposing a small tunnel. They crawled into it, excited at their cunning escape.


	6. The Brightwing

Chapter 6 The Brightwing

"Hey, pst! Wake up!" Someone kept prodding me in the small of my back.  
Still held captive by sleep, I turned over and muttered, dead to the world, "But I spit washed my face last night."  
A feminine voice giggled with amusement.  
'Who is that?' I thought groggily.  
Memories of the fierce storm replayed in my mind, causing me to sit up with a gasp. Someone who was bent over me stumbled back when I suddenly bolted upright. It had stopped raining, but my fur was still soaked.  
"Mom?" I asked hopefully.  
Someone sat up, appearing slightly annoyed, "Do I look like I'm your mom?"  
"No," I replied sheepishly, and then getting a better look, I exclaimed, "You're a bat!"  
"You're a genius, -of course I'm a bat!"  
She then raised her long, bright wings, and had long luxurious fur. Round elegant shell-shaped ears stuck close to her head, and she had a small pointy nose. Her dark eyes sparkled.  
"You're a Silverwing," the stranger nodded in slight interest, "What's your name?"  
I stared at her unusual wings before answering, "Pandora Silverwing."  
She noticed how awed I eyed her wings, and she smiled, revealing gleaming white teeth.  
"I'm a Brightwing," she folded her wings testily, "But you must be too young to know that not all bats are the same."  
My fur bristled. This 'Brightwing' didn't seem to be older by more than a year.  
"And your name?" I asked, deciding to ignore her last comment.  
"My name is Marina Brightwing." She grinned in such a friendly way, that I no longer was annoyed at her.  
I smiled in return, "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
"So what are you doing on my island?"  
"Island?"  
"It's a body of land, surrounded by water."  
It was then that I eyed my surrounding with growing concern. I let my echolocation travel over every inch of my strange vessel. We were standing on a hard wooden floor of a human boat. Glancing up, a massive white sail loomed over us, blowing in the gentle wind. That must have been what Shade and I crashed and slid on.  
My blood froze.  
"SHADE!" I yelled as loud as I could, panic seizing me. Wings spread wide, I took to the air, scanning the boat for my cousin.  
Marina, surprised by my antics, rose into the air with me.  
"What's wrong? Who's Shade?"  
Tears began to roll down my cheeks and I couldn't stop my voice from choking up, "H-he's my cousin…we-the storm-what if he fell in the water?!"  
"Hey, hey, calm down," Marina spoke in a soothing tone, "It's almost dawn, why don't you spend the day at my place?"  
"B-but Shade- my colony- mom"-  
My heart clenched like a fist as I thought about mom. She probably thinks I'm dead. I didn't want to think about how devastated she must be.  
"Listen," Marina continued to keep a calm but sympathetic tone, "We need to roost before the sun rises. There are no bats on the island, but plenty of owls. Come to my roost with me, and we can sort this out."  
With no idea where I was, and no other plan of action, I silently followed Marina to an old human building. We roosted on one of the many ropes hanging from the ceiling. Broken pottery littered the floor, and the building seemed ancient.  
Marina wrapped a concerned wing around me, "Now why don't you tell me what happened?"  
As I stopped crying, I told her about how Shade was put in shock by a bolt of lightning, and how I tried my best to save him, and how the sail separated us.  
"He must have fell in the water and drowned." I mourned.  
"You don't know that, he could have survived." But there it was, doubt in her sympathetic eyes.  
"You are really brave."  
This caught me off guard. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just closed my eyes and tried to sleep.  
'Me? Brave? What a joke.' I thought to myself. Was I brave when that owl nearly killed me and Shade? Was I brave when Tree Haven burned to the ground? Was I brave in that storm?  
No.  
I'm a coward. Though it all, I was scarred out of my fur! Brave is something that I will never be, even in my wildest dreams.

Shade poked his head out of a pile of slimy kelp that washed him ashore. Water soaked him, and the stench of fish clung to him.  
Shade tried to wriggle out of the kelp, but he was stuck. It wrapped around him, trapping him in a tangle of seaweed.  
He tensed when a scuttling noise caught his attention.  
"Hello?" He called out.  
Casting out a net of sound, the images of three crabs came into view. They were much bigger than he was.  
They crawled closer to him, and he gasped when each one tried to snap him with their huge red claws.  
"Hey!" Shade squirmed to get out of their reach.  
He just managed to avoid their claws, and they accidentally snapped the kelp that held him captive.  
Now free of his slimy prison, he didn't waste a second to get away from the aggressive crabs.  
Dawn was coming, and he flew around in a frenzy, trying to find a safe place to roost for the day. But he faltered in the air when he remembered Pandora fell with him. Shade franticly searched every inch of the beach, hoping to find a trace of silvery purple wings with brunette fur. Despair washed over him, when he knew she wasn't there.  
Fearing the worst, he flew around wildly, until he crashed into an old human building. With morning almost upon him, he rushed into the hut, and roosted on the nearest rope hanging from the ceiling. It took an hour for him to get sleepy.  
Lost, alone, confused and scared, Shade fell into a fitful sleep.

In a city, three pigeons sat on a ledge of a tall building that just happened to be in front of a certain air vent.  
Hegland was in the middle of telling the other two pigeons about what happened a few days ago. They never saw the two shadowy figures emerge ever so sneakily from the vent.  
"…and then wamo! He bumps into the other feeler again. And then it hits me," Hegland continued, "I says, it's a mirror!"  
The three pigeons laughed merrily, unaware they were about to be on the menu.  
"Boy, did he feel stu"- Hegland gasped, finally noticing the hungry predators. He never had time to warn his friends or fly to safety.  
They flexed their claws, and plunged.  
In the blink of an eye, each of the carnivores grabbed a pigeon. They left Hegland alone, but sliced a deep gash in his chest when they rushed past him. Poor Hegland was so terrified, he just stood there, a wing over his cut. After he recovered from shock, he quickly took off, knowing he must report this massacre.  
The biggest and the most cunning of these two beasts, began to chew his dinner thoughtfully. Originally, he planed to flee into the jungle once they escaped that cursed prison. But now, he realized the humans must have taken them somewhere in the north. Unlike his beloved jungle, the air was cold, the scenery more foreign, and he didn't recognize a single star in the sky. The sky was brightening in the distance, showing him east, from there he could guess at south. But he knew he would need more than that to stay on course for a whole night.  
He'd need to understand these new northern stars.  
"We need a guide," he reported to the shorter one, "Someone to show us how to read the sky-that's the only way to get home. We need to find a bat."


	7. Trouble by Band

Chapter 7 Trouble by Band

I yawned, waking up from slumber. To my right, Marina slept on soundly, to my left anther bat roosted still asleep as well.  
I backtracked. Anther bat? I thought Marina told me there were no other bats on this island. Inching closer, I eyed him suspiciously.  
Strange. This particular bat had light blue wings, just like Shade did. And he had a blonde mane and short hair, exactly like Shade did. And he was short and small, because he was Shade!  
"SHAAADE!" I yelled as I pounced on him, holding him in a tight unrelenting hug.  
He lost his hold on the rope, and he screamed as we crashed onto the dirt floor of the hut.  
Marina, startled, flew into the air looking around in alarm, eyes popping out her sockets, "What's going on?!"  
Shade started screaming as he tried to escape my hold on him, "HELP! Don't eat me!"  
He was obviously not at all pleased with his wake-up call. But I was too thrilled to care. I continued to squeeze him, grinning stupidly from ear to ear.  
Marina, watching the scene, fell to the floor, clutching her sides as she laughed her head off.  
After a few minutes, Shade noticed he wasn't being attack by a predator, but held in a tight hug by an extremely happy bat. He glared at Marina, "Could you please tell your friend to let go of me before she squeezes me to death?"  
Marina who now crying from laughter had to gasp, "Take- a closer- look short stuff."  
Confused, Shade studied me before realizing who I was, and he began to smile joyfully too, "Pandora?! Your alive!"  
"I thought you drowned!"  
"I'm so happy your ok…but I can't breath…"  
I took a step back, giving him some air. Marina flew over to us, "So, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're Shade?"  
"Yeah," then noticing her smirking at him, asked, "What?"  
"You scream like a girl."  
Shade's fur bristled as he glared at her.  
"Marina, this is Shade," I introduced them.  
"So I figured."  
"Shade, this is Marina."  
He nodded curtly at her, still not happy about her saying he screamed like a girl. But then his glare turned into curiosity at her wings.  
"I'm a Brightwing," Marina held up her wings impressively, "Not all bats are the same."  
He bristled again, "Come on Pandora, let's go catch up with the colony."  
"Good luck with that." Marina added casually.  
"What do mean?" Shade asked with a hint of worry.  
"The two of you landed on an island."  
"A what?"  
"You know, big hunk of land, with water all around it."  
"You mean we're not back to where we started?"  
Marina shook her head.  
Shade rushed out of the hut, I followed closely with Marina right behind us.  
The tree of us rose high into the air. Shade and I gasped. Miles and miles of water stretched beyond the island, all you could see was water. No sight of land. How were we ever going to get back to the colony?  
"We'll never get back." He whispered to me.  
"It's about a million wing beats," Marina stated cheerfully, nodding to a point on the horizon, "It's not the easiest ride, but not impossible."  
"You've done it before?" I asked impress.  
"Once."  
"So you came from the side too?"  
She nodded and Shade looked at her strangely, "Why?"  
"To live. It's not much, but its home."  
"You're all alone here?" I inquired.  
"Till you guys showed up."  
"Where's your colony?"  
When she answered, I noticed how she avoided our gaze, "At the mainland…somewhere."  
I thought it might be rude to ask why she wasn't with her colony, so I remained silent.  
There was an awkward silence until Marina broke it, "I'm hungry, let's hunt."  
It was then that I noticed the yawning pit in my stomach. We went off hunting until we became full, then the three of us roosted on a branch of a pine tree.  
"So is this your first migration?"  
Shade and I nodded. I tilted my head, "How many migrations have you been on?"  
"Just one. This was supposed to be my second year, but…"  
She trailed off.  
I gasp. How could I have missed it? Then I understood, because she quickly moved again, and I saw that she had a way of always tucking her forearm under her wing so that the band didn't show.  
"You've got one too!"  
Marina looked at me sharply, "What'd mean?"  
Shade gasped when he noticed it too, "You've got a band too!"  
"You know someone else, who has one?"  
"Our colony's elder, Frieda."  
Marina's eyes widen and she grinned, "An elder? Banded? Like mine? Like this one here?"  
I studied her band, taking her outstretch arm, "Well maybe not exactly like"-  
"When did she get it?"  
"Well she's pretty old, and she told us she got it when she was young so"-  
"How old is she?"  
"Practically ancient." Shade insisted.  
"And she's still alive!" There was awe in voice.  
"What'd you mean?" I raised an eyebrow.  
"They say it kills you," but she was smiling.  
"Who?" I was taken aback.  
"The Brightwing elders."  
"What? Why?" Frieda never mentioned anything like that.  
"They say that once the humans tag you, your cursed."  
Shade and I gasped.  
"But," I fumbled over my words, "That can't be true."  
"Maybe they were wrong, maybe it doesn't mean certain death."  
"What are you talking about?" Shade impatiently fumed.  
"This!" Marina waved her banded arm, "This is why I'm here! Alone." She took a deep breath, "Listen. Last spring my colony and I were traveling back to our summer roosts. I went hunting along the river, and I was a long way from the others. Suddenly I was hanging in midair, caught in this huge net. Then this giant hand reached in and …that's when they banded me."  
She paused and I could tell she had waited a long time to tell someone this story.  
"Then what happened?" Shade asked, hanging on to every word.  
"I flew home. I felt really exited, like something wonderfully special happened to me." She sadly gazed down, "But when I showed my parents, my mom stared at the band and starts to cry, and my dad just got this hard look on his face. They took me to the elders and they told me I was…what was the word…unclean, that's it. And I was I marked for certain death. They told me I was nothing but bad luck for the colony…and then they banished me."  
I was horrified, "But what about your mom and dad, didn't they do anything?"  
Marina looked away, and I saw a tear trickle down her face. I instantly regretted asking.  
After a short silence, Marina asked, "So what's your story?"  
Shade and I told her about how we saw the sun and about Cassiel and the other banded bats, and the echo chamber and how Frieda thinks the bands are a sign of this wonderful promise. We told Marina how the owls got revenge in burning Tree Haven.  
When we were done, Marina nodded thoughtfully, "I've heard about the Great Creator and something about a battle, but the elders never mentioned anything about a promise. Do you really think we could return to the sun one day?"  
"I don't know how, but I'm going to find out." Shade stated, determined.  
Marina grinned at him, "You're quite the little troublemaker, aren't you? Seeing the sun, getting your cousin in trouble, scaring your mother half to death, getting your roost burned down by the owls. My guess is you two aren't the most popular bats in your colony right now."  
Shade hung his head, "I just wish you could have seen Tree Haven. It was the biggest oak, with so chambers and roosts and"-  
"Come on!" Marina eyes sparkled and she left from her roost. Confused, we followed her through a small forest on the island.  
"Where are going?" Shade asked, mystified.  
"Just a little further," Marina sang.  
We soon came upon a huge oak tree.  
"So, what'd think?" Marina smiled, "Its big, its got all kinds of chambers."  
Shade and I flew all around it in awe.  
"Wow, it's perfect! This could be our new Tree Haven!" I marveled at Shade.  
"We have to tell the colony about this!" Shade added.  
"Then its settled," Marina smiled, "Well head for the mainland…together."  
I beamed at Marina, "You want to come with us? Really?"  
She nodded, "I want to meet Frieda and these other bats."  
I was thrilled Marina was coming, even Shade seemed to like the idea of anther bat joining us. Marina smiled,  
"We'll leave for the mainland first thing tomorrow night!"


	8. Death in the Ally

**Pandora Silverwing, Brett Brownwing and Samantha Greywing are my original characters and belong to me. You can not use any of them unless you get my permission first. Thank You.**  
Chapter 8 Death in the Ally

The next night, we didn't waste any time setting off for the mainland.  
However, after a few hours, I panted, becoming more and more exhausted. Shade felt the same, if not worst, he panted along with me.  
I wasn't bigger than Shade by much, we were almost the same wing span. Mom always told me I would get bigger when my growth-spurt hit, but I was having my doubts. Don't get me wrong, there are perks that come with shorter wings. Since Shade and I had small broader wings, we could easily fly though narrow and tighter spaces and we could hover. But right now, on the high seas the odds were against us.  
Marina, having longer wings than Shade and I, leisurely glided along ahead of us.  
Marina sighed in content, "I thought I'd never get off that island. You two do remember what an island is right? Body of land, surrounded by water."  
When we didn't reply, she looked back to see how worn out we were.  
"Keep it up you two," she tried to encourage us, "You guys are doing great!" She lowered her voice, "For a couple of Silverwings."  
I continued to pump my stressed wings, deciding to let her slide on that one. Shade just grunted, too tired to say anything.  
Leading the way, Marina's wings beat impressively with every stroke.  
Just then, we all heard laughter above us. From a few low clouds, an obnoxious seagull flew down alongside us, cackling.  
"You three are working way too hard!"  
Shade glared at him, "Anything else to add, birdbrain?"  
He just laughed some more, then soared back into the clouds where I could hear a few other seagulls cackling.  
I noticed Marina sending a net of echolocation towards the birds. She smiled then flew up above the clouds without an explanation.  
"Pandora, Shade," Marina called us, "Come up here!"  
Sharing a puzzled glance with Shade, I angled my wings and pumped with all my might. I grunted from the effort.  
When we were finally next to Marina, my muscles burned, and now three seagulls flew around us.  
Shade frowned at Marina, "You brought us up here to watch feeble bird tricks?"  
"No," Marina patiently explained, "Just hold your wings out."  
Shade looked at me as if to say, She's not serious, is she?  
I shrugged at him. My wings were too sore for me to care if I did fall a few feet. Closing my eyes, I stopped flapping as I held open my wings. To my astonishment, a strong wind carried me forward. It was incredible! Every wing beat felt like three!  
I rushed by an astonished Shade. He quickly copied my movements and soon the three of us were happily gliding through the air.  
"Wow, how is this possible?" I asked Marina.  
She smiled, "It's a slipstream. I've played around with them a few times. Slipstreams are currents of wind that blow inland. They make the ride easier and faster."  
"Wanna race?" Shade challenged.  
Marina grinned, "You're on!"  
The three of us lined up in midair. Shade began the countdown.  
"One…Two," he took off, "…three!"  
Without wasting a second, I took off after him.  
"Hey," Marina tried to catch up, "No fair!"  
The three of us laugh and did rematches as we continued towards the mainland.  
When we finally reached the mainland, the dawn chorus was just starting and Marina found a small cave just before sunrise.

I yawned, stretching my wings as I woke from sleep. Judging by the faint light outside, it was an hour after sunset. Next to me, Shade and Marina slept soundly. I crawled over, and gently nudged Marina awake. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then looked around. A mischievous glint shined in her eyes when she noticed Shade was still sound asleep.  
"Aww," Marina teased, "Isn't sleeping beauty precious?"  
I giggled and the two of us flew to a rock right under Shade.  
I nudged him like I did with Marina, "Waky, waky, moonshine."  
Marina poked him with her claw then grinned deviously. With a hard yank, she sent him rocking back and forth.  
"Wa- hey!" Shade woke up, glancing at us with sleep filled eyes, "What was that for?"  
Marina played innocent and shrugged her wings, "Do what? You startled yourself awake."  
Shade stretched his wings, tired enough to buy Marina's innocent prank, "Ok, I'm up."  
He flew down next to us.  
"So where do we fly along the route?" Marina asked. I felt like I might puke. When we sheepishly looked down, her voice grew concerned. "You two do know the route, right?"  
"Well…my mom did sing me a sound map."  
"You forgot it?"  
"No," I snapped. It wasn't a total lie. I could remember the pictures and images, I just didn't know what most of them were.  
"Now what are two talking about?" Shade demanded impatiently.  
"Mom sang me an echo map of the migration route." I explained, "It's kinda like the echo chamber."  
"Well, call up your sound map and check your colony's migration route."  
"Well…I uh…never really called up the sound map before."  
"Yeah right," Marina laughed, "Quit fooling around Pandora."  
I nervously tapped my claws together.  
"Your not kidding," Marina muttered, "Are you? Holy sunlight! Now you tell me this?"  
"It never came up before." I stuttered.  
Marina sighed, "Close your eyes, and try to remember what your mother sang to you."  
"The whole thing?!"  
"Why don't we just use your sound map?" Shade asked Marina.  
"Genius idea, Shade," the Brightwing oozed with sarcasm, "If we want to find my colony."  
She turned back to me, "We don't need to see the whole thing, just the first part of it.  
Shade gave me an encouraging smile.  
Closing my eyes, I consented on calling up the map. It was like a replay, except it was slightly blurry. Like I did before, I soared over Tree Haven, over the barn, across the sea and the lighthouse. Now I was in a human city, surround by tall buildings that were covered in artificial light. But I was flying around one building in particular. There was something special about it, like it was more important than any other building. And then I heard it again, BONG, BONG, BONG. Next, I focused on a brilliant shining star. I snapped out it.  
Shade and Marina watched me expectantly.  
"Well, there's a human city nearby…"  
"We'll start there!" Marina took off.  
"Hey!" Shade shouted.  
"Wait for us!" I added, flying in pursuit.

In the city, two bats headed for the cathedral. The oldest was a handsome Brownwing who was flying next to a beautiful female Graywing.  
"Brett," the Graywing sighed, "I'm feeling much better now, you should go catch up with your colony."  
Brett flew close to her, ready if she felt faint again.  
"Samantha, I promised you I would help you until you're fully recovered. In a few more nights, you'll be fully recovered, and the both of us will be on our ways."  
Samantha smiled, touched that he would delay his migration until she recovered from her cold. He was like the big brother she never had.  
Brett gasped, gently grabbing the scruff of Samantha's mane and guiding her the ledge of a building.  
"What's wrong?" Samantha whispered, alarmed.  
Brett signaled to be quiet, then pointed at an ally below them.  
Two pigeons stood over something, in deep conversation.  
It was very rare to see pigeons at night, and Brett wanted to find out if he should be alarmed.  
"Wait here." He whispered to his Graywing friend. She nodded, and he silently crawled down to the pigeons, close enough to hear what they're saying.  
He wrinkled his nose when an unpleasant smell fumed over him.  
He knew the one with bushy eyebrows was the captain and the other was a sentry. He couldn't see what they were huddled around.  
"This is most disturbing," the captain frowned at the lump in front of him, "This is the fifth attack?"  
"Yes, captain," the sentry stood strait, looking slightly pale, "Hegland is the only witness, but his story is…well…hard to believe."  
The captain raised a bushy eyebrow, "How so?"  
"He claims that two giant meat-eating bats murdered his friends."  
Brett covered his muzzle to keep from gasping.  
"Giant meat-eating bats?" the captain was also taken aback.  
"Yes, he says they sneaked up on them, and brutally killed them. Hegland has suffered from a deep gash in his chest, close to the shoulder, and the remains of his two friends were found. But no sign of the murders."  
The captain sat in silence, thoughtfully staring at the heap in front of him. At last he broke the silence.  
"Whatever or whoever is killing innocent pigeons, are obviously dangerous and ruthless killers. I want all bats taken in for questioning and send word to General Brutus, he'll want to hear about this."  
When they flew off, Brett was now able to get a good look at what was laying in a heap in the ally.  
He paled.  
Nothing could take back what he just saw.  
He wildly scanned the area around him. Terrified some cereal killer would pounce from the shadows, ready to devour him.  
The city was no longer safe. No where was safe.  
Brett quickly crawled back to Samantha. She tilted her head to see what he was staring at.  
"Don't look!" Brett raised his wings to block her view, "We need to go, now!"  
Without rebellion, Samantha followed Brett to their destination, not daring to look at what brought horror to her friend. On the way, Brett filled her in on what he overheard, but left out the gruesome sight he saw in the ally. They flew in the shadows, not wanting to be seen by pigeons or psychotic killers.  
The image burned inside Brett's mind. He would never forget. It definitely explained that awful smell. The stench of death.  
What could be cable of such a horrendous act? The dead pigeon was brutally slain in the ally. Bones, intestines, tissue and blood all in one heap, exposed to maggots that practically swam in the poor bird.  
He shook his head, desperately trying to forget. He prayed he would never meet the killer.  
Giant bat or not, Brett knew one thing. Anyone who would have the displeasure of running into the two murders would be in a world of trouble.


	9. Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter 9 Guilty Until Proven Innocent

It was amazing. Never had I seen so many new things, smelled new smells or heard new sounds. It was like a New World. So bizarre and different. We flew in between the tall human buildings, and bright lights shone though reflective glass windows. The light caused our wings to have a sort of glow to them. I gasped when another bat flew by me, but then I realized it was my reflection. I was amazed. Never had I seen my reflection before. My wings glowed a radiant purple, long curly hazel hair blew gracefully in the wind, and below my bangs two shimmering sky blue eyes shined back at me.  
"This is so cool!" Shade exclaimed, amazed to see his reflection as I am.  
"The city is the most incredible thing I've ever seen!" I laughed in excitement.  
"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," Marina admitted, "But we need to stay focussed and find your tower."  
We flew on, keeping sharp eyes open for the landmark. After about twenty-five minutes, Shade perked up.  
"There's one over there!" he tilted his chin towards a square stone tower, thrusting hundreds of feet into the sky. It wasn't like the lighthouse. This tower was much more ornamented, with ledges and carvings, numerous windows, some bright some dark. On one side, near the top, was a massive circle, bigger than the moon, and brighter. Black marking were inscribed around the inside rim, and I could hear a regular clicking from behind the flat circle face.  
Near the top was a window, boarded up. One board was broke in the middle, Shade and I roosted on one side of while Marina roosted on the other. I was in the middle.  
"Finally." Marina sighed.  
"Um…guys," I looked around feeling uneasy, "I'm not so sure this is the same tower on the sound map."  
Shade and Marina gave me downcast faces, "Sure it is." Marina tried to convince me.  
"Well, it doesn't have a cross." They followed my gaze to the peak of the tower. No cross.  
Marina sighed impatiently, "Did you see any other tower like this on your little sightseeing tour?"  
"No, but"-  
"Ok, then what else could it be?"  
Before I could argue, a loud bong erupted from the tower, causing the three of us to lose our grip and fell a few feet in the air. We flew back up to the window, ears pressed against our heads.  
Shade was convinced, "You told us you heard a loud bong! This _has_ to be the place."  
"But I heard three loud bongs, not one. This isn't it."  
"Then were is it?" Marina sounded impatient, "Honestly guys, I feel like I'm doing everything."  
Shade and I glared.  
" _Excuse_ me?! I'm the one with the sound map!"  
"And I spotted the tower," Shade glowered, "That just"-  
"Stinks." Marina interrupted.  
We looked at her dumbly before Shade shook his head, "That's not what I was going to say."  
Marina started sniffing the air while we did the same.  
Instantly I recoiled, placing a wing over my nose, "Ugh, what stinks?!"  
"Eww," Shade agreed, "It smells…foul?"  
In the blink of an eye, three huge heads shot out from the gap in the boards and closed their beaks around our forearms, dragging us inside the tower with hardly any effort.  
I was roughly thrown on the floor, stomach down, making me gasp for breath. My captor stood on top of me, pinning my wings down with his claws. I looked up, but regretted it when his piercing eyes glared at me with hatred mixed with suspicion. Shade and Marina shared the same predicament. Marina was pinned down on my left and Shade on my right.  
I heard Marina exclaim, "Pigeons!"  
I glanced up at the dozens and dozens of 'pigeons' roosted on higher beams, endlessly cooing. They watched us like we deserved this.  
Even though I was deathly afraid, I was slightly curious. Never had I seen a pigeon before. They weren't as terrifying as owls, but right now, I felt like I might have a heart attack.  
"What are going to do, guys?" Shade whispered with fear in his voice.  
"I-I don't know." Marina whispered back.  
I on the other hand was to afraid to say anything. My body trembled.  
The pigeon pinning me down bent over and grabbed the scruff of my mane none too gently. I groaned as he lifted me up and lined in-between Shade and Marina. He roughly dropped me on the ground and the wind was knocked out of me once again. He hopped on top of me, keeping me in place.  
"Captain," Shades captor shouted, "Here are the three renegades Hegland saw kill our friends."  
"What?!" I gasp. The pigeon pecked me hard on my head to get me to shut up. A sharp pain shot though my skull and I knew I was going to get a headache for sure. If I lived that long, that is.  
A pigeon flew down from a beam and landed directly in front of me. He held his chest high, and had bushy eyebrows. I slowly looked up at his stern glare.  
"Silence!" he shouted at the cooing pigeons, "Give me more light!"  
Not far from us, a pigeon dragged at a tar shingle, and below it, bright blinding light filled the room.  
My attention was brought back to the captain who was getting closer to us. Bending over Shade, he pulled on his hair, making Shade grunt. He narrowed his eyes at me, and sharply pecked on my head. Yep. Definitely going to get a headache. My fear was squished out for a minute as I glared up at him.  
"Cut it out!" I yelled at the big bird, "We didn't do anything, and you have no right to treat us like this."  
The captain seemed surprised that such a small bat would say something like that to him. His eyes narrowed, making me gulp.  
"Watch what you say to your superior." He growled, giving me a much sharper peck. I was now greeted by a agonizing headache.  
He then turned towards Marina and bonked her with his wing. She kept quiet but glared at him.  
"Hegland," the captain commanded, standing up straight, "Come forward."  
A pigeon with his head down limped forward. When he turned to look at us I could see a deep gash in his chest, still oozing. Unlike the others, he didn't glare at us with hate, but flecked around fearfully.  
He looked us over.  
"No." he answered instantly and then stared laughing franticly, "These three? No. No, no, no, no. There were two of them, and these three are way too small. The ones I saw…" he stopped laughing and twitched violently, terror poured from his haunted eyes, "Huge captain sir, HUGE! Their wing span had to be at least over three feet!"  
I shared a confused glance with Shade a Marina. Giant bats? Three-foot wing span?  
"Enough!" the captain raised his voice making Hegland slink back.  
The captain turned his fiery eyes down on me. "You seemed pretty chattery earlier, where are the other bats?"  
I didn't know what to say. Which bats? Was he talking about Silverwings? Or these so called giant bats?  
When I didn't say anything, my captor squeezed his talons into me, causing me to groan from the pain.  
"Hey feather-head!" Shade shouted, "Leave her alone!"  
The pain stopped, but only because my captor wanted to see how the captain would react to Shade's outburst.  
I stared in mute horror as the captain menacingly raised his talons, about to strike Shade. But thankfully, a pigeon announced, "He's arrived, sir."  
The captain regained his poster, deciding to deal with Shade later.  
On a low beam, a crowd of pigeons parted, allowing an owl to walk through then regally glided down in front of us.  
My heart threatened to pound right out of my chest as I realized I know this owl. He glowered down at Shade and me.  
"We meet again, lawbreakers?" General Brutus growled Shade and I. "Wasn't breaking the law enough for you? You two and your colony have now graduated to murder?"  
"Murder?!" My eyes popped open. We're being accused of murder?  
"That's insane!" Shade yelled, "Our colony would never murder!"  
"So you admit it was just you two and your little friend here." He turned his gaze onto Marina.  
"We didn't do anything!" Marina spoke up.  
"My sentry described them as giant bats," the captain looked doubtful that we killed pigeons, "Unlike these three."  
Brutus shook his head, "Preposterous! The Silverwing are obviously killing innocent pigeons as some pathetic act of revenge for our burning of Tree Haven."  
"That's insane!" Shade glared at Brutus, "No bat could kill a pigeon!"  
"No one bat perhaps," Brutus paced thoughtfully, "But an ambush by the whole colony! Besides, I've heard tales of cornered bats. A bat scorned will stop at nothing."  
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"  
"Shade," Marina hissed at him, "Shut up!"  
"If I were you," Brutus glowered at Shade, "I would listen to your wise little friend here."  
He stared hard at us, but rested his gaze on me, noticing how pale and fearful I was. Shade and Marina glared at the owl with defiance, I on the other wing was close to a heart attack!  
Brutus got up in my face, "Tell me where your colony is, NOW!"  
He probably thought I would talk since everyone was aware that I was shaking out of my fur.  
"I don't know," I answered truthfully, barely over a whisper.  
Brutus glanced at Marina and walk over in front of her.  
"Why exactly is a Brightwing in league with these puny criminals?"  
Marina glanced at us, not sure what to say. She flinched when the guard holding her shouted, "Answer the General!"  
Marina glared angrily at Brutus, "They're aren't criminals."  
"Bats," he spit the word out as if it was a curse word, "Your ancestors couldn't see who to side with, and neither can you! You creatures make me sick. Captain, post sentries all over the city."  
"Its already been done General."  
"Fine, capture and arrest all Silverwings!"  
"No!" Shade yelled.  
"You can't do this! This is unfair!" I shouted angrily at him, my fear once again pushed aside. But a lot of it came back as Brutus bore his eyes into me with raw hatred. I gulped as he bent over me, his beak less then an inch from my nose.  
"It's already been done," he hissed menacingly, "And as for it not being fair, you and your filthy colony are dirty little murders that need to be wiped off the face of the earth!"  
I was scared out of my fur, but I glared with equal fierceness.  
"Well what a coincidence," I spoke with mockery, "I think owls are the ones who should be wiped off the face of the earth."  
I was well aware of Shade and Marina watching with mute horror. Even the pigeons seemed to suck in their breaths. The tension grew as the slow seconds felt like hours. My stomach did a back flip as a slow sleazy smile curled across the corners of his beak.  
"For such a small bat, you have a large mouth. Maybe I should teach you how to keep it shut."  
Then, quickly and without warning, Brutus took the tip of his talon and carefully ran it up my back.  
I screamed in pain, Shade and Marina yelled at Brutus and most of the pigeons cooed loudly in excitement. The pain was indescribable!  
It was over. But it happened just like that. The pain was unbearable. I would bear that scar for the rest of my life. I groaned in pain. It hurt to move even in the slightest way. It pained me to even breathe. Cold liquid oozed down my back. I closed my eyes, trying to block out pain and to hold back my tears. I heard Brutus smirk, Shade growl, the cooing dying down.  
"I'll alert the owls in the northern forests." I heard Brutus say as he made his out, as if nothing happened. "Oh, and captain…torture the Brightwing and the male Silverwing until they reveal the colony's whereabouts."  
"What about the female Silverwing?" The captain's deep voice asked.  
There was silence as Brutus paused for effect.  
"Tear off her wings then dump her in the lake outside the city."  
I cringed as Marina and Shade gasped. I heard Brutus spread his wings and fly away, leaving us to our fate.  
Screech…screech…  
I didn't need to open my eyes to know that some pigeons were sharpening their beaks, getting ready to torture my friends…and strip off my wings.  
"Shade," Marina hissed, "Pigeons can't see in the dark."  
I barely opened my eyes, my tears escaping. Marina and Shade were staring at the tar shingle. The pigeon holding Shade busied himself with sharpening his beak on a near beam. While he was distracted, Shade squirmed out of the pigeon's grasp. He yelled in pain as part of his wing ripped against one of the pigeon's talons. Despite the pain, Shade madly pounced at the shingle, covering the whole and blinding the pigeons in total darkness. They went up in fury and confusion.  
"Don't let the prisoners escape!" the captain shouted as dozens and dozens of pigeons flapped around, cooing in confusion and determination to catch the escapees.  
With my echo vision, I saw Marina bite the pigeon holding her, causing him to retract his claw, allowing her to fly to freedom.  
"The Brightwing escaped!" the guard shouted, warning the others.  
"Capture them!" the captain command to the others, "And to the guard holding the female Silverwing, don't let her go!"  
The guard pinning me down tightened his grasp making me gasp for air. My body was seized by pain as I tried to move, but I was too weak. There was no way I could get out on my own. Just when I thought all hope was lost for me, the pigeon pinning me down doubled over from the force of Marina and Shade as they tackled him to the ground.  
"Come on!" Shade frantically called to me as he flew up to the window with Marina. Despite the pain that shot though my body, I flapped my wings and caught up with them.  
The pigeon that Shade and Marina tackled screamed to the others, "The female Silverwing is loose! Their escaping!"  
 _"Well, duh."_  
The pigeons roused in even more chaos. They cooed nonstop, bumped into each other and flapped around wildly. We dodged confused pigeons and had several close calls. We used our echolocation to guide us through the dark tower.  
Almost to the window now.  
Marina screamed when a pigeon nearly hit her with his wing. Shade spiraled out the window. I looked back to make sure Marina was still behind us, but was horrified when a pigeon blocked her way, flapping its wings wide in attempted to recapture the prisoner.  
"Shade! Pandora!" she screamed in both fear and panic.  
Without thinking, I hurled myself at the pigeon, knocking him away from Marina. But he quickly recovered and was about to attack me when Shade flew back in and tackled him with Marina. He crashed onto a beam and the three of us flew for all we were worth towards the window.  
Nearly there.  
Right before we got to the window, Shade groaned, tucking in his ripped wing. He crashed into a beam and fell below the window.  
"Shade!" I gasped.  
Marina and I flew down to him.  
"Are ok?" she asked as we helped him up.  
"Just fly!" he groaned as we flew though the window.  
Blood was ozzing from my back and I flew with difficulty. The headache didn't help me much. I could tell Shade felt the same way with his ripped wing. I didn't even notice the fresher air. The two of us grunted as we struggled though the stinging pain.  
Marina looked at us with concern, "Do you two want to stop somewhere and rest?"  
"I'm fine," I lied, "What about you, Shade?"  
"Pigeons," Shade seethed with rage and fiery anger, "I hate them almost as much as I hate those stupid owls! They nearly killed Pandora!"  
"Shade," Marina sighed, "Revenge isn't worth it. We have to warn your colony. We gotta go find that cross."  
Just then, a hollow bong filled the air.  
"Did you guys hear that?" I asked as I strained my ears.  
Two more hollow bongs rang though the air.  
"Shade, Pandora, that's it!" Marina shouted with excitement.  
"What?" Shade asked.  
"The tower with the cross, from the sound map, its over there!"  
"That's the landmark! Lets go!" Shade exclaimed excitingly.  
As we neared the tower, Marina let out a horrified gasp. She grabbed the scruff of Shade's main and led him over to the ledge of a building. I followed, puzzled.  
I groaned as landed beside them, some of my blood dripping onto the ledge. I swayed, feeling a little dizzy.  
Marina and Shade glanced at me with concern before Shade frowned at Marina, "Hey, what's the big deal?"  
"Shh." Marina signaled for us to look over her shoulder. The three of us peered behind the corner of the building. A few yards away on the ledge of the tower, three pigeons stood watching for Silverwings.  
"Oh great," I sighed, "Is it too much to ask for five minutes without running into a pigeon?"  
Marina perked up, an idea coming to her.  
"Shade come with me, Pandora, you wait here."  
"What?"  
"I have an idea to get rid of the pigeons. It only requires two bats, and besides, you're too injured."  
"But I don't want to just sit here."  
They weren't listening. I sighed and watched them glide down to a lamp below the pigeons. I recognized one of them as Hegland, the pigeon who got attacked. He was shaking and jerking his head around in fright. The other two started to pick on him, putting him even more on edge.  
Marina and Shade began making scary bat shadows from the light. The three pigeons looked up in fright to see two bat shadows, the light making them look bigger than they actually were.  
They screamed in panic, and bumped into each other flying away in a frenzy. I couldn't help but laugh at the comical birds as they flew away. One of them was even screaming for his mommy.  
Shade and Marina fell over from laughing so hard. They flew up to where the pigeons stood earlier, next to a stone gargoyle.  
I was about to join them, but tensed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw a big shadow.  
There it is again!  
I squealed and flew off, ramming into Marina. Shade helped us up and I pointed dramatically in the direction I saw the creepy shadows.  
"G-guys, I- I saw something- really, really big! Over there! What if it was a giant bat?"  
Marina started to laugh, "Come on, Pandora. You don't really believe in giant bats, do you? That's just some story made up by scared birds."  
Shade put a hand on my shoulder, "Really Pandora, giant bats don't exist."  
"Really?"  
We all gasped as a deep voice asked in amusement.  
"You'd be surprised."  
We all backed up, gaping at the gargoyle. The voice was coming from it.  
The deep voice laughed, "Just because you've never seen them, doesn't mean they don't exist."


	10. Country Bats and the City Bat

Chapter 10 Country Bats and the City Bat

My eyes widened as I took a closer look. Inside the open mouth of the gargoyle, a small white bat smiled at us. He turned around and walked deeper into the gargoyle. There must be a tunnel inside.  
We shared a puzzled look then flew in after him. I grunted and tried to ignore the pain from my wound. Shade was the first one to go inside the stone statue. We were astonished to see a small tunnel. When it opened up, I saw we were inside the spire. There was a system of elaborate poles and beams. Strangely, there were odd herbs and weird plants hanging from the ceiling.  
We sat on a beam, amazed by our surroundings. On a lower beam across from us, was the strangest bat I've ever seen. He was normal size, but his fur was solid white. He wings were pale and completely translucent. But the most curious thing about him was his ears. They were big and slightly round. He must have incredible hearing.  
It has nothing do with age," he explain, aware of our amazement, "I'm an albino- my fur and flesh lack pigment. Even my eyes, when I still had use of them."  
It was then that I noticed his eyes were ghostly white. He's blind.  
"Who are you?" Shade asked, tilting his head.  
He smiled, "My name is Zephyr. I'm, eh…" he tapped his chin, trying to find the right word. "I'm the bat traffic controller for the migrating colonies. This city is the central harbor through which all colonies pass."  
Marina glided down to a wall where strange scribbles were scratched into the wood.  
"Those are the flight patterns my dear…"  
"Marina. My name is Marina. And that's Shade and Pandora." Marina introduced.  
Shade smiled and glided next to the strange scribbles, "You know where all the colonies are? So, where are the Silverwings?"  
"They were here two nights ago. They didn't stay long, just enough time to get their bearings."  
"Were they all right?" I asked.  
"You're those two bats they lost in the storm."  
I nodded in surprise, "They told you?"  
"They think the two of you are dead."  
My insides turned. My mother…  
"You're a Brightwing aren't you?" Zephyr turned to Marina, "I can hear the different shape of your wings; even the texture in your fur is different, longer, fuller…"  
"Yes, I am," Marina glanced at us with amazement. "But I don't belong to a colony anymore, because"-  
-"Of your band." Zephyr finished. He tilted his head, " Strange markings…I've never heard of one quite like that before."  
"You've seen others?" Marina asked excitingly.  
"Yes. May I?"  
She held out her forearm and Zephyr gently tapped it, caressing it with her echovison. I noticed Shade looked enviously from Marina to Zephyr. Surly he wasn't jealous?  
"Well, we better go." Shade raised his wings, about to fly off.  
"Well, off you go then," Zephyr replied cheerfully, "Unless of course you think that ripped wing of your will slow you down." He turned to me, "Or if you think that nasty gash will get infected and kill you."  
I gasped. Shade glanced down at his wing and fainted. Marina rolled her eyes at Shade who was out cold.  
"Infected?!"  
"Yes," Zephyr cheerfully answered, nosing around in some herbs, "Most likely it will get infected with some terrible disease and kill you in about a week."  
The room started spinning. The color drained from my face as I swayed.  
"So I'm a goner?" I squeaked at Zephyr.  
"Most definitely," Zephyr smiled, "Unless you let me treat your wound."  
I raised an eyebrow, "Treat my wound?"  
"With proper treatment, your wound will be fine."  
"What kind of treatment?" this didn't sound good.  
Sorting through some strange plants, Zephyr answered thoughtfully, "You'll need a special herbal remedy, that's for sure."  
"Herbal remedies?" I didn't like the sound of that. "Will it hurt?"  
"It won't be as bad as you think." Zefer patently explained. "It won't feel good, but it beats dying."  
Marina flew up behind me and studied my back.  
"He's right, if you don't let him help you, you could die."  
I gulped. Marina flew over to Zephyr and whispered something. He smiled at her.  
"No, I don't think she lost enough blood to die."  
"Oh great," I sarcastically stated, "Now blood lose? Just add it to the pile of death threats."  
Zephyr walked next to me holding funky looking plants.  
"Here, eat this," He handed me a red leaf with weird veins, "This will put you in a deep sleep."  
"Why would I need to be asleep?"  
"When I apply the herbs on your wound, it will sting. It will be easier if you're not awake for that."  
I slowly ate the leafs. They didn't really have a taste or a smell, and already I was starting to feel sleepy.  
"I'm going to need you to lay flat on your stomach."  
I nervously did as he instructed.  
"Marina, would you please gently hold her in place?"  
Marina softly placed her hands on my shoulders. She tried to hide it, but I saw her wrinkle her nose in disgust from the blood.  
I closed my eyes, and instantly fell asleep.

The giant bat sniffed the blood intently.  
Bat. That's what it smells like.  
He smiled, sharp deadly teeth glistening in the moonlight. He was relieved that bats existed in this northern wasteland. After two nights of searching, he was afraid bats might not live this far north. He turned to his companion.  
"Zotz has not failed us, Throbb. This is definitely bat blood."  
"Are you sure, Goth?"  
Goth took another long whiff of the red liquid.  
"Without a doubt."  
Throbb nodded, "I thought I saw a small bat over here."  
Following the scent, the two bats landed on a tower where they found more of it. The scent led them to a stone gargoyle. Measuring the entrance of a small tunnel with his echolocation, Goth was disappointed to discover he could never fit though it.  
"What now?" Throbb asked.  
Goth thought for minute. Even though he didn't get a bat, he had found it's scent. He knew blood was the best way to track something. Now that he had this scent, he would be able to find this bat. No matter where it would go, no matter where it went, Goth would be able to find it. And he knew he would. He had to. It was the only way to get home.  
"We'll go…for now. This bat will have to come out some time, and when it does, we'll be ready."  
The giant bats flew off into the night.  
Goth growled. One way or another, this bat will help him get back home.  
Or else…

Shade opened his eyes and saw Zephyr standing over him. He was lying on his back while Zephyr was spreading an oily substance on his ripped wing. Shade wasn't to fond of how slimy it felt.  
"When are you going to migrate?" Marina asked, sitting on a pole just above them.  
"Never. My full name is Zephyrnaia, which means 'protection'. I believe it is my purpose to help other bats as they migrate."  
"Don't you miss your colony?" Marina asked.  
"I was abandoned as a baby." Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you know what that is like?"  
Marina sighed as she glanced at her band.  
Shade sniffed the funky looking liquid that covered his wing, but pulled back in disgust.  
"Eww," he stood up and shook it off his wing, "Get this stuff off of me, my wing is fine."  
Marina frowned and glided next to Zephyr, "That "stuff" is a healing poultice, and your wing doesn't hurt because it's working."  
As if on cu, Shade flinched as his wing began to sting.  
"Ow-ow, ow," Shade groaned and fell back onto the beam in pain as Zephyr shook his head the young bat's drama.  
As Zephyr began to put the poultice back on, Marina curiously pick up a red spiraled herb he was using. He stopped and turned towards Marina.  
"Careful, that's strong medicine!" He warned, "That's herb kills pain." He bent over Shade, "Don't lick your wing or you'll be out cold for a week."  
Shade smiled as the pain went away.  
"Lets go Marina." He paused as he noticed they were missing someone, "Where's Pandora?"  
Zephyr pointed to a lower beam. Pandora was lying flat on her stomach and Shade felt sick as he saw the deep gash. It was sickeningly bright red against her purple silvery wings.  
She wasn't moving.  
Shade gasped, "Is she…?"  
"Calm down, she's only asleep." Zephyr reassured Shade.  
"An owl did it," Shade hissed with building anger, "They were going to tear her wings off, then dump her."  
"Yes, I know." Zephyr nodded sadly, "It's a shame they blamed you three for the deaths of the pigeons."  
"How did you know that?" Marina curiously inquired.  
Zephyr smiled, "I have very good hearing. Believe it or not, I heard everything that happened in pigeons tower."  
Shade sadly glanced back at Pandora. She was starting to mumble something. Pandora groaned and twitched around, caught in the clutches of a dream. The bleeding stop a while ago, but her back was covered in the sticky dried blood. Nearly her whole back was covered in dried blood, giving her the appearance that she was born with a clumsy red stripe down her back. Dim light reflected off the frail and delicate thin wall her blood formed. The scar was a narrow line starting from the bottom of her spine, but quickly widened in the middle, then ended narrowly at the bottom of her mane. Zephyr had wisely arranged her hair so it wouldn't rest in her gash, preventing it from getting trapped under blood clot. However, sticky blood dried in bits of mane and the ends of her hair.  
Shade grimace as he remembered her fur lifting screams, the deadly sharp talon carving into her skin, the sound of tearing flesh and the horrible smell of blood as it oozed out of her back.  
Shade jumped when Zephyr rested a wing on his shoulder.  
"Pandora is going to be fine," Zephyr reassured with kindness. "I know it seems scary, but the blood will eventually wash away. I cleaned the wound with special herbs so it won't get infected and it will heal faster."  
"It won't leave a scar, will it?"  
"Yes," Zephyr sighed sadly, "Yes, it will leave a permanent mark that won't fade away."  
"Anyway, we won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Marina added, "She's too injured and so is your wing."  
Shade glanced down at his ripped wing. It didn't sting anymore thanks to Zephyrs herbs, it just felt a little numb. But it was nothing compared to his cousin's injury. How could he let this happen?  
Ever since the owls burned down Tree Haven, something inside tickled and nagged. But now, seeing his best friend like this…It grown until it had a sort of hold on him, until he was consumed by its every whisper, it's every word, and it's every lie. His belief in it only made it stronger, more persistent…more controlling.  
"It's all your fault." it hissed, "And you know it."

I wasn't flying and I wasn't falling. It was as if an unseen force held me, keeping me suspended in the air. All around me, swirled magnificent dazzling light.  
"Where am I?" I wondered.  
I felt clean and refreshed. Something was tingling inside my mind, like I was forgetting something. Distant and foggy memories tried to remind me of a horrible pain, but I shook my head. I didn't want to think about something so terrible right now. Not here. Not in all this joy and light.  
The feeling was wonderful. I felt as if I was in the arms of pure love, forgiveness and mercy. Its like I was in the arms of someone who wanted me to know I was special to Him.  
And then, from out of nowhere, a beautiful radiant snow-white bat flew up to me. Her wings shined a dazzling white and she was taller and flapped gracefully. Brownish-blue eyes watched me with compassion. And she seemed to radiate a goldish glow.  
Something inside me was telling me I could trust her.  
"Who are you? What kind of bat are you?"  
She smiled kindly and her voice had a calming peacefulness, "I'm not really a bat. I simply took the form of a bat so you would be more comfortable."  
I stared at her dumbly.  
"I am a messenger. The Great Creator has summoned me."  
I was aware that my jaw hung open.  
"He wishes for me to tell you that He has chosen you for an important task."  
She must be off her rocker.  
"This journey will be far from easy. Through it all, you must not loose your faith, even when it seems that all else has failed."  
"Wait a minute"-  
"He will send an unexpected ally, but beware of metal on wings."  
"But"-  
"On your way to Hibernaculum others will cross your path. Few will help, but many will hinder."  
"Hold on"-  
"May you never loose sight of the light."  
A flash…and then…  
I gasped, my eyes wide with fear. It took me only a moment to realize I was still in the cathedral.  
I never left.  
A burning, stinging pain seized me, and I groaned softly. Every muscle felt sore and stiff. I had a horrible feeling that if Zephyr didn't help me, I might have possibly been dead by now.  
High above me, I saw Shade and Marina sleeping soundly. Just a little higher, Zephyr peacefully slept on, snoring ever so softly and quietly. Surprisingly, two other bats slept on a close beam. From their shape and fur color, I could tell one was a male Brownwing and one female Graywing. The Brownwing had lifted a sleepy eye in my direction, obviously hearing my groan.  
I quickly laid my head down, pretending to be asleep.  
Buying my charade, he closed his eye, drifting back into slumber.  
Silently laying in the dark, I thought about that weird dream.  
It was a dream…right?


	11. Things are not what they Appear

**Brett Brownwing, Samantha Greywing and Pandora Silverwing are my oc's and belong to me.**

Chapter 11 Things are not what they Appear

When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry. As my vision came into focused, greenish brown eyes met my sky blue eyes.  
"Hi." A friendly masculine voice greeted.  
I didn't answer.  
"You must be Pandora. It's nice to finally meet you."  
Glancing around, I noticed everyone else seemed to be gone. The bat in front of me was the Brownwing from yesterday.  
Where's Marina? Where the heck is Shade? What happened to Zephyr?  
"Um…where are the others?" I tentatively asked the bat crouching in front of me.  
"The sun just went down, so every one went hunting. I stayed behind to wait so you wouldn't be alone."  
I frowned.  
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much."  
"No problem." He answered cheerfully, not catching the annoyance in my voice.  
It was nice of him to stay behind, but I didn't like this feeling of helplessness.  
I grunted as I tried to get up. Every bone and muscle felt stiff and sore and a burning sensation stung me in the back. I gently pushed away the other bat when he tried to help me up.  
When I was at last on my own two feet, I began to make my way for the exit. The other bat quickly got in front of me, blocking my path.  
"Wait! Zephyr wanted you to take it easy for tonight."  
"What do you mean?" I frowned, wings on my hips.  
"He told me you're too weak to go out flying tonight," I glared at the word 'weak'. He noticed and quickly changed his words, "I mean…you're too…injured to go out flying. He wants you to take it easy and just stay put."  
"Well besides the fact that I'm just fine, I'm starving." I insisted. I knew I wasn't 'fine' and I was being stubborn, but I was hungry.  
The other bat lit up as if he got an idea.  
"I'll go hunt for you!"  
"Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow, "You'll hunt for me?"  
"Yeah, no problem!" he grinned, "While I get you food, you'll be resting from your injury."  
"No, no, no, that won't be necessary." But he was already out the tunnel.  
I groaned. It was bad enough my friends had to see me like this, now some peppy stranger was hunting for me? This is humiliating! The way Shade and Marina looked at me last night made me feel pathetic. And then when Marina had to hold me in place while Zephyr treated me? I felt so weak.  
I know they cared about me, but I didn't want to feel like a burden.  
I tried to flap my wings, wanting to go and hunt for myself. But it was no good. The pain was unbearable if I tried to flap my wings. I sighed in defeat.  
Hopefully that Brownwing would bring me something good.  
I looked around, trying to find something to do while I wait for the others to get back. However, I tensed when a strange noise filled the tower.  
Wait…is that…music?  
I followed the strange melody to a crevice, I crawled into it. There was a small narrow tunnel. As I followed it deeper and deeper, the sound got louder and louder and there was a bright light at the end. After a while, the tunnel opened up, and I was astonished to see a colossal room before me. Humans. So many humans gathered in there. They all seemed to be singing. I noticed that not a single human looked the same. Some were different colors, they all had different faces, and all of them had different hair. I sat there mesmerized.  
Their voices were deep and powerful. The language they use was bizarre and alien.  
After they all sang, they sat on long benches. One of them walked onto a stage then began to speak. Everyone else gave him their undivided attention.

Pandora? Hey, where did she go?" Brett flapped around the beams and poles. Shade and Zephyr roosted on a beam close to him. Zephyr's ears twitched, listening for something.  
"She went down that tunnel," Zephyr pointed to a small crevice, "To see the humans, I suspect."  
"I'll go get her," Brett cheerfully flew into the crevice.  
"There's humans down there?" Marina asked as she and Samantha Graywing flew into the spire.  
"Oh yes," Zephyr nodded, "They gather in a large room. They will sing for a few minutes then one of them will preach while the others listen. Samantha has a interesting theory."  
Shade and Marina looked over to the female Graywing with curiosity.  
Samantha blushed, "Well, my dad is really into humans. Instead of going to the Greywing Stonehold with the other males for the summer, he'll come here in the city. He does it to observe and study the humans. Last winter, he told me all that he knew or his theories. I took an interest so we both came up with some ideas. I propose that the humans that come here to this building are here to worship their God. And by a reasonable hypothesis, we both think that they worship the Great Creator! Isn't that amazing!"  
Marina and Shade smiled at the Graywing's enthusiasm.

The humans stood up, then started to sing some more. I must have spent an hour down here, but never once did I get bored.  
I looked over my shoulder as Brett crawled next to me.  
"Fascinating, aren't they?"  
I nodded, agreeing. We watched their strange behavior for a few more minutes before Brett turned toward the tunnel and I followed him back to the tower.  
As I finished eating the two tiger moths Brett caught for me, we listened as Samantha told me all about the things she knew or guessed about humans. It was pretty interesting. Her eyes sparkled and she hopped a little as she talked. I admired her passion.  
A few beams above me, Shade flexed his torn wing. Across Samantha, Brett and me, Zephyr was scratching markings into the wood that the flight paths were on. On the same beam as Zephyr, Marina nosed though his plants and herbs curiously. She picked up a berry and was about to plop it in her open mouth.  
"I wouldn't eat that," Marina froze as Zephyr spoke without even looking at her, "But you might want to squeeze a little of its juice under your band."  
Marina looked doubtful at the small berry.  
"Go ahead," Zephyr turned to face Marina, "I can hear your skin cheeving against the metal."  
Marina slowly squeezed the berry against her band, then sighed with relief.  
"Ahh, that feels good." Marina thought for a moment, then flew closer to us. "Zephyr, Samantha, do you know why the humans banded me? Is it a curse?"  
"My child, the actions of the humans are inconsistent and uh…difficult to interpret." Zephyr thoughtfully explained.  
Marina looked hopefully to Samantha, but the Graywing sadly shook her head.  
"I'm sorry Marina, but my dad and I have no idea why the humans band bats. We don't even have a theory."  
Marina sadly stared at her band. Zephyr flew down and placed a wing on her shoulder.  
"Marina, you are special." Zephyr gently pushed aside her banded arm, "But that has nothing to do with any bands."  
As Zephyr walked back to the flight paths, he faltered when he walked right into a big leafy herb hanging from the ceiling.  
Shade glided next to Marina and whispered, "The old guy is as blind as a mole."  
I face palmed. There was no doubt Zephyr heard that, with as good hearing as he has.  
"Technically I'm blinder." Zephyr replied cheerfully, taking no offense to what Shade whispered.  
Shade flapped his wings irritably, "Who in their right mind would put a bat who can't see in charge of air traffic control?"  
I glared at Shade's rudeness and disrespect, "Because maybe sometimes hearing is the best way of seeing."  
"Incredible insight for one so young." Zephyr smiled at me.  
Shade rolled his eyes and huffed.  
"I heard that." Zephyr called over to Shade.  
Shade looked surprised before he scowled and slouched. But then he stood up and flew towards the exit, "I'm going to test my wing, maybe catch a bug or two."  
Zephyr shook his head at Shade's stubbornness before going back to sorting his herbs. I decided to strike up a conversation with Brett and Samantha. They both seemed nice, and after all, Brett did catch two plump tiger moths just for me.  
"So, why are you guys here instead of migrating with your colony? If you don't mind my asking."  
"Well…Last week, my colony past through here, and I decided to stay for a couple of nights to study the humans," Samantha explained, "This was going to be my second migration, and I wanted something new to tell my dad about the humans. However, on the day I planned to leave and catch up to my colony, I discovered I caught a bad cold, but by then I was a little ways out of the city. The Brownwing colony found me, and Brett volunteered to stay with me as Zephyr helped me. Brett promised to stay until I recovered. I'm planning on going back to my colony first thing tomorrow night."  
"Oh." I felt a little disappointed that they would be leaving tomorrow night.  
Zephyr stopped what he was doing and listened intently. We watched as he flew into the tunnel towards the exit. Brett, Samantha and Marina curiously followed him. Not wanting to be left out, I bit my lip from the pain as I flew after them.  
Holy sunlight! My wings were burning with stinging pain.  
I grunted as I landed behind the others, who were silently watching something outside the mouth of the gargoyle. I crawled closer and noticed every one of them had looks of horror on their faces, except Zephyr who merely frowned. I looked outside and gasped. A few streets away, three pigeons chased Shade. He foolishly flew under the street light in plane view of the birds.  
"Fly out of the light, Shade! They can see you in the light!" Brett, Samantha, Marina and I desperately shouted to the Silverwing, but he was too far away to hear us. I was alarmed to see how tired he was, and his ripped wing didn't help him much either.  
I raised an eyebrow at Zephyr who calmly closed his eyes and seemed to be using some form of echolocation.  
Shade clung to the corner of a building, trying to make himself invisible. I was worried they might see him, but then another bat flew past him, towards the pigeons. The four of us watch, completely amazed as the new bat flew around the pigeons, toying with them. One of the pigeons nearly had the bat, but then he vanished into thin air! The pigeons circled in place, baffled.  
Except Zephyr, we all stared in disbelief.  
"Did you see that?" Brett whispered in awe.  
I glanced at back at Zephyr who seemed to be in some sort of trance.  
The pigeons were about to continue the search for Shade, but the mysterious bat flew around the baffled pigeons before leading them far into the city.  
Zephyr came out of his trance while laughing gleefully. We watched with open mouths as he flew back into the tower while chuckling with delight. Shade landed next me, and we shared stupefied looks with the others before flying back into the tower.  
I landed on a beam next to Zephyr, Samantha and Marina roosted on a pole above us and Shade landed on a beam across from ours.  
"That was weird," Shade exclaimed in amazement, "One minute he was there and the next he wasn't!"  
I raised an eyebrow at Zephyr; "You had something to do with that bat, didn't you? He wasn't really there…He was like some kind of echo or something."  
Zephyr turned and beamed at me, "You're considerably wise for someone so young. Not many bats your age think things through like you do. And yes, that bat was merely sound."  
"Sound?" Shade asked doubtfully.  
"Oh yes, only a wing full of bats can do it."

In an ally on the outskirts of the city, a lone rat sniffed around a dumpster with caution. The rats in the city had been informed by the pigeon ambassador that some Silverwings were on a killing spree. If any rats came across a bat, they were to be questioned and any Silverwings were to be imprisoned. True, all the victims have been pigeons, but this rat decided to be on alert.  
You could never be too careful.  
Unfortunately, a sneaky murderer can invade caution, just like stars in daylight.  
The cautious rat felt his fur tingle as he had the horrible feeling of being stalked.  
The truth sank in.  
"I'm being hunted." He thought with panic.  
He turned around. His eyes widened in horror. He made a desperate attempt to sound the alarm by shrieking in the air. His cries were instantly silenced when a giant bat pounced, it's teeth piecing the rat's skin. As the killer carried off his prey, the only evidence of this slaughter was a few slashes on the wall of the dumpster and a few specks of blood.  
It was a quick death.  
But the Silverwings would soon be blamed.  
And the rats will want revenge.


	12. Bird of Many Colors

**Pandora, Brett and Samantha are my original characters**

Chapter 12 Bird of many Colors

The good news, I could now fly without any pain, except a stiff soreness. The bad news, tonight Samantha and Brett would be leaving for their colonies. They went to hunt before setting off. They promised to be back and say good bye before leaving the city.  
Shade roosted on beam above me, while Marina groomed herself next to me and Zephyr roosted next to the wall with the flight paths.  
I slumped, feeling a little depressed that I might never see Brett or Samantha again.  
Above me, I saw Shade look around, then fly onto a high beam. Sharing a curious glance with Marina, the both of us spread our wings, and landed next to Shade. I was about to ask what's going on, but he signaled for us to be quiet. Shade pointed to a beam above us. I gasped when I saw the pigeon, but relaxed when the pigeon closed her eyes in pain as she tenderly held her wing.  
She was injured. She wasn't a threat.  
Heck, she didn't even know we were there.  
What happened to her?  
I turned back to Shade and Marina, but I was stunned to see Shade in absolute furry. Without a word, he aggressively flew towards the pigeon.  
"You're one of those birds who tried to kill me out there!" Shade hissed.  
The poor pigeon gasped in fright when Shade roosted on a beam above her head. Slowly she inched away, terror flooding in her eyes.  
"No," she whispered meekly, "You're mistaken, look, can't you see? I'm hurt."  
She was so scarred, I felt sorry for her. However it was obvious Shade felt nothing of the sort. He scowled and menacingly crawled towards her upside-down.  
"Owls probably killed my dad. They burned down my home, and now you guys tried to kill Pandora and torture me and Marina!"  
The helpless pigeon whimpered in fright as she pressed herself into a corner.  
"I _hate_ all birds." Shade growled, slowly crawling towards her.  
She wobbled on a thin piece of wood as part of it chipped away. It fell past Marina and me, we watched in horror as the blackness swallowed it up. It was a good minute before we heard it clunk as it reached the bottom.  
"Can't you see? I'm not a threat." The pigeon desperately pleaded. Her voice was so innocent and frightened.  
"Please," her voice quaked as the board under her gave a soft, creeeeek. "I just came here to hide."  
The pigeon was now shaking.  
"Hide? From what?" Shade roughly demanded his expression merciless.  
Creeeeeeeeek…  
"G-Giant bats," Tears now formed in her eyes, "They attacked my family."  
"Well they probably had a good reason!" Shade sneered in her face, "I know I would!"  
Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek…  
This has gone too far.  
"Leave her alone, Shade." I nervously called out. I've never stood up to any of my friends before. I've never had too.  
"She's hurt," Marina sided with me, "Back off."  
"You have a right to be mad," I spoke more boldly, "But don't take it out on an injured pigeon."  
But he didn't even glance at us. A cold raw hatred had a hold on him.  
Creeeeeeeeeeeeeek…  
The pigeon gave a terrified moan. Her injured wing slumped uselessly at her side. I doubt she could fly if she were to fall.  
"Please," she begged, "Don't you see, what your doing?"  
But Shade narrowed his eyes and crawled threateningly closer.  
Creeeeeeeeeek…SNAP!  
The pigeon gave a last terrified gasp as the board gave out from under her.  
She fell.  
Rage was replaced by panic as Shade realized what he did. At the same time, the three of us rushed to the falling pigeon. I grabbed her leg with my feet as we all made a desperate attempt to lift her up. We succeeded in only slowly her down, and even then we were falling at an alarmingly fast rate. Beams and poles flew by us, the world a blur.  
"To…the left…lean left…" I grunted, hoping to land on a beam.  
Marina and Shade did just that, and we landed roughly on a wooden beam. We all tumbled around before coming to a stop. The four of us lay where we were, panting from shock, trying to regain the breath that was knocked out of us. We were defiantly going to feel that in the morning.  
I weakly crawled to the pigeon.  
"Are you ok?" I asked with compassion.  
She nodded and I saw how truly grateful she was.  
"Thank you," she whispered, a tear running down her face, "Thank you so much."  
The exhausted pigeon passed out from all the drama as the three of us slowly stood up.  
Marina's eyes were wide as she stared at the pigeon, not believing what just happened. Shade nervously watched us, shocked that he nearly killed someone. Noticing the horror on my face, he timidly took a step towards me.  
"Pandora…"  
I pulled away from him.  
Without a word I spread my wings and flew, refusing to stop or look back when he called me to stop. I soared out of the tower and into the city.

Zephyr landed next to Marina, Shade and the pigeon. In his wings he carried some herbs.  
Shade just sadly stood in place. A feeling of shame and regret washed over him.  
"Did you see- uh, hear that?" Marina asked Zephyr, hardly believing it herself.  
"I heard," Zephyr slowly spoke, "A young bat, blinded by his anger. Then I saw something change in him."  
Zephyr squeezed some kind of berry juice into the unconscious pigeon's beak. "That will ease the pain." He explained.  
Zephyr tenderly examined the pigeon's wing, softly squeezing in a few places. "Her wing is only sprained," he reported with a smile, "Nothing a good nights sleep wont cure."  
Shade just nodded, still shocked that he nearly committed murder.  
"I didn't mean for this to happen," Shade shamefully hung his head, "I just wanted to scare her. But I got so angry…I didn't realize what was happing."  
"You must never underestimate the power of an act of kindness," added Zephyr, "Even toward your enemy. Real or imagined."  
Marina cocked an eyebrow at his last remark. Zephyr just grinned and closed his eyes, concentrating.  
Shade gasped as a huge wing was gently place over him and Marina. They looked up in shock to see an owl. They screamed and pulled away, only to realize it wasn't real. They looked over to Zephyr who was creating the mirage with his echoes. When he stopped, the owl faded away into nothing.  
"That owl," Shade stuttered, "The bat…they were echo-projections?!"  
Zephyr nodded.  
"Will you teach me?"

I flew through the city, not caring where I was going. I needed some time alone. Cautious of pigeons, I flew in the shadows, avoiding the light. Seeing Shade like that scared me. I've never ever seen him so angry. And I didn't like standing against my friend, even if it was the right thing to do.  
A numb sensation tingled my spine, so I rested on the ledge of a building. Zephyr had told me it would be like this for a few nights. I couldn't fly for long amounts of time without resting. I crawled towards a window and curiously looked inside.  
I was shocked to see loads of animals. Next to the door was a table with a human standing behind it. There was glass tanks containing strange fish, a few cages holding kittens and puppies, and big metal cages holding colorful birds I've never seen before. And none of them looked happy.  
There were no bats.  
Even though none of those animals were "chummy" with bats, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Strangely, I felt more pity towards the birds. They had no room to fly, and they looked bored and miserable.  
I need to do something.  
On a cage close to the ground was one of the smallest of birds. He was still much bigger than me, but maybe if I let him out, I could fly away while he frees the others. It was a good plan.  
What could go wrong?  
Making up my mind, I quietly squeezed under the window while the human wasn't looking. I glided down to a tank with fish in it, hiding behind it. I nearly gagged when I saw a couple of dead fish floating around in the tank. I nervously glanced at the human. He casually ruffled through some papers, unknowing I was inside. Stealthily I flew towards the birdcage containing the small bird. I hated to land so close to the ground. I would be an easier target for predators.  
Through the bars of the safe, a small bird perch on a stick with his back to me. He was extremely colorful and smaller than a pigeon. His feathers were a beautiful combination or red, green, blue and yellow.  
I wondered where he came from?  
"Hey, ppsstt!" I whispered through the bars, getting his attention, "I can try and get you out of that cage."  
The colorful bird spun around. He seemed stunned at the sight of me.  
"Wow, you're the smallest bat I have ever seen!" He exclaimed, edging closer to get a better look at me.  
I stood there stupefied. A bat shows up, offering to help him get out of cage, and all he says is "I'm the smallest bat he's ever seen"?  
Unbelievable.  
I awkwardly cleared my throat, "Soooo, listen. I know birds and bats don't get along well – especially now."  
He huffed, "Of course we don't get along! You bats eat my kind every day!"  
"What?!" Bats eating birds? He must be pals with Brutus. And besides the strange feathers, I noticed the bird had a foreign accent. Was he even from around here?  
"That's crazy, we do not!" I argued with him.  
The bird rolled his eyes, "What do want, senorita?"  
I huffed, "I _was_ going to try and free you."  
He eyed me suspiciously. "What's your game, senora?"  
"No game, I just want to help you."  
"Why?"  
"Because you shouldn't be in there. I know I wouldn't like it if I was in your situation."  
This seemed to take the bird off guard, and I could see he was trying to decide if I was telling the truth.  
"I can try and get you out, but only if you swear not to hurt me."  
The bird thoughtfully sized me up, trying to determine if I was being honest.  
"Look, you're bigger than me, and do I look like a killer to you?"  
This seemed to make up his mind. "Very well, senorita. I swear if you free me, I won't harm you in any way."  
I look him dead in the eye and saw no signs of dishonesty. Turning my attention to the cage, I saw a metal lever that looked like it opened a small door attached to the cage. Letting my echolocation sweep over it, I realized it wouldn't be hard for me to open it. Flapping my wings, I hovered next to the lever and pulled. Slowly, it eased open and the door swung open ever so slightly. The bird could easily push it open himself. Not wanting to find out if he would keep his word, I made a beeline for the window.  
But as I turned around, I was horrified to see the human running towards me, swinging a broom wildly!  
I screamed as I narrowly dodged the broom, panic killing any sense of reason. The animals in the building filled the air with noises of excitement. With no reasonable direction of flight, I flew around in frenzy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the human lower his broom. Before I could fly out of the way, it stuck me. I felt the sensation of falling out of the air.  
And my world went black.


	13. Silver Band

**Padro the Parrot and Pandora Silverwing are my oc's.  
**  
Chapter 13 Silver Band

"Is it dead?" A small twelve-year-old boy asked, poking the end of a pencil into a silvery purple bat, sprawled out on the floor.  
"Stay away from it!" the boy's mother quickly scooped him up, backing away from the bat. "That vile creature probably has rabies and diseases!"  
"Cool! Can I keep it?"  
The boy's mother was aghast, "Absolutely not!" She turned towards her husband who was putting on gloves, "It is dead, isn't it?"  
The man picked up the small bat with his gloves. After looking the bat over, he walked to a cage and dumped the poor thing inside.  
The man shrugged, not caring if the bat lived or not. "Lucky for him, I only knocked it out. It's still breathing."  
"How do you know it's a him?" his son asked.  
His dad shrugged again, "Who can tell?"  
"Who cares if it's a girl or a boy." The woman stomped her foot, "Just get it over with and kill the miserable thing!"  
The man walked over to a phone book and began flipping through the pages. "Why kill it, when we can make some money off the dumb animal."  
The woman let go of her son and he curiously walked over to the caged bat. "How can anyone possibly make money with a mangy little bat?" She asked, rolling her eyes.  
"I think she's neat." The little boy smiled at the unconscious bat, "She's got an awesome scar running down her back!"  
"Son, the bat is most likely a boy and I'm sure he was probably born with it." The man arrogantly remarked while pulling out his phone.  
"How do you think you can make money off it?" The woman impatiently asked.  
The man began dialing numbers on his phone, "I know this crazy bat freak that will pay a small fee for the winged rodent. He works at some dumb bat conservation center."

* * *

A white van hurriedly drove through traffic. The man at the wheel couldn't believe those jerks at the pet store actually caught a bat. He didn't know them well, but he did know that the couple who owned the store despises animals. Which was ironic since they own a pet store.  
Next to him, his assistant sat in the passenger seat.  
The man was in a big hurry to get that bat. The owner of the store mentioned he whacked the bat with a broom. It took everything he had not to yell at that jerk. He could have killed it!  
In the back of his van were medical supplies in case the bat was injured. If the bat wasn't injured he would band it then release it outside the city.

* * *

Pain surged through my body once again and I had one heck of a headache. My body was in shock so I just laid there, listening to the strange voices. I didn't open my eyes, not wanting to know where I was. I didn't remember much. Something about a colorful bird…a human…a broom? My eyes shot open when it all came back to me. I was lying on my side in a small metal cage. Two big human eyes stared down at me. I didn't dare move. My echolocation swept over my surroundings. The human watching me seemed young. Maybe a child. Farther away two grown humans talked to each other. While the male seemed laid back and smelled stinky, the female was obviously upset about something. Every now and then she would glare powerful and hateful eyes at me. I shrank back.  
Looking around for a way out, I noticed my cage seemed similar to the one that had the colorful bird in it. But my heart sank when I realized I could never get it open from the inside. And the bars were far too small for me to squeeze through.  
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the humans with terrified eyes.  
What did they want with me? And more importantly…what will they do to me?  
Just then, another human walked through the door. When his eyes rested on me, he smiled and seemed awed in a way. He wasn't like the others. This new human was clean and wore a white coat. His brown eyes weren't cruel or filled with greed like the others. He seemed pleased to see me, and surprisingly I think he was concerned about me. He had short red hair, freckles and he was a little taller than the other man was. He carried a bag and small box. He walked over to me but the other man stopped him, blocking his way.  
The two talked for a while until the nicer man gave the other one green papers. The shorter one shuffled through the green papers greedily while the red head eagerly rushed to my cage. I shuffled away fearfully. While this man seemed nice enough, he was still much bigger than me, and I didn't know anything about him.  
His eyes shined with compassion as he softly spoke to me. Even though I couldn't understand him, I had a feeling he was trying to show me kindness. I relaxed a little. Well, at least until he opened the cage grabbed me.  
His grip was gentle but unbelievably powerful. No amount of struggling could loosen his grip. I screamed and begged him to let me go, but he couldn't understand me. I tried to bite him, but he wore some sort of protection on his hands that kept me from hurting him.  
He continued to speak softly and he began to carefully stroke my fur. Realizing struggling was useless, I forced my body to go limp.  
Gently, the human observed me. He carefully squeezed my wings, studied my ears but he studied my scar more than anything. After a while, I think he decided my scar wasn't a real threat to me.  
I tried to remember what Marina told me about them. Did she mention something about them stroking her before they banded her?  
Behind him, another human in a white coat enter through the door. This one seemed to be female and like him, she had a kind sparkle in her eyes. After talking to the human holding me, she opened his bag and dug around for something. When she pulled out a small object I prayed I would never see, I screamed and struggled again. The man gently spread my wing open while the female prepared to band me with a silver band.  
"No!" I screamed, "Please, no! Stop! Don't do this to me!"  
After all the trouble Marina went though because of her band, I wasn't too fond of getting one myself.  
I squeezed me eyes shut as the cold metal fastened around my left forearm.  
I stopped struggling.  
It was over. It happened just like that.  
For reasons unknowing to me, I've been marked as a banded bat.  
Was it a curse? Was it a sign of the promise? Or did mean something else?  
I didn't care. I didn't want this.  
I opened my eyes to see the humans were lowering me into a small box. I didn't even bother to struggle or glance at the band. What was the point?  
Just then, the screeching of a bird filled the air and the colorful bird from earlier swooped down at the human holding me. Distracted by the bird, the human's grip loosened and I managed to squirm free. The humans panicked at the unexpected attack and I flew out the window along with my rescuer.  
We flew without stopping, not knowing where we were flying too. After a while, we rested on the ledge of a tall human building.  
After a long silence I smiled at him, "Why didn't you leave me?"  
He grinned, "Because you shouldn't be in there. I know I didn't like it when I was in your situation, senorita."  
"Thank you."  
"My name is Padro. What is yours?"  
"My name is Pandora Silverwing. Where are you from?"  
He laughed, "Far, far away, senora. My land is much different than your home here."  
"Really?" my curiosity tingled, "What's it like there?"  
"Well, for starters the air is much warmer and we have different stars."  
"You have different stars?" I asked in amazement.  
"Si." Padro nodded. After thinking for moment, he added, "How big are bats around here?"  
This seemed like an odd question to me, but I shrugged and answered, "I'm about average size, I guess."  
"And what do you eat?"  
"Bugs, of course."  
His eyes widened. "You don't eat meat?"  
"Meat? Ewww! Of course not! No bats eat meat."  
"Ok, ok, sorry I asked."  
"So, how will you get home?" I asked, changing the subject.  
Padro smiled, "I have a good sense of direction. Most birds do."  
I remembered hearing some of the elders mentioning this, but I wasn't sure if it was true until Padro confirmed it.  
After saying our good byes, he turned to go, but stopped as if remembering something.  
"Senora Pandora?"  
"Is something wrong?"  
"Well," he hesitated, "Down south, where I come from…the bats there are much bigger than me."  
I laughed as if he just told a joke, but his face was dead serous.  
"Giant bats?" fear began to fill me.  
He grimily nodded, "Si. And they are terrifying creatures. There isn't an animal alive that can kill one easily."  
"Why are you telling me this?"  
Padro looked me dead in the eyes, "I've never met anyone a noble as you, Pandora. If you come across giant bats you must run away as fast as you can. They are blood thirsty and cannibalistic."  
I gasped. I've never known any animals to be cannibals. Not even the owls did such a thing.  
"But why do you think I might meet one of those bats?" I asked, "I thought they live down south where you come from."  
"If the humans brought me north, who's to say they didn't take anyone else."  
As Padro flew away for his homeland, I thought about what he told me.  
Giant bats?  
Could that be what killed the pigeons? The idea of giant meat eating, cannibalistic bats seemed like rubbish. But that would explain who's been eating pigeons.  
For the first time, I looked at my band.  
I let my echolocation scan every piece of it. Strange markings covered it- like Frieda and Marina's. It was shiny and glimmered in the city lights. But it also reminded me that no matter what I wouldn't be able to take it off. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?  
My thoughts traveled back to that odd dream I had a few nights ago. The bat in my dream told me, 'beware of metal on wings'. Did that mean me or was she talking about Marina? Was she talking about something or someone else?  
And what about the others? How will they react to this?  
I knew they wouldn't shun me, but others probably will. I highly doubted my family would reject me ether, but would it change the way others treat me? Would change the way my friends treated me?

* * *

Two giant bats leisurely glided through the city. The one named Goth was beginning to worry. They had been following the scent of the bat, but still haven't found it. What if they couldn't find this bat? What if they couldn't find any bats? How will they get home?  
He could tell Throbb was nervous too. Nether one of us knew which way home was.  
What if bats didn't exist this far north?  
It was a scary thought. Without a bat to guide them, they would never get home.  
Goth was just about ready to think he made a mistake in identifying the scent as a bat, when Throbb suddenly beamed.  
"Goth," Throbb hissed, "Down there!"  
Goth looked down and smiled with relief.  
Below them flew a small purple silvery bat.

* * *

I glanced around as my fur stood straight up. Maybe I was just paranoid, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. I flew in the shadows away from the light to make it harder for predators to see me.  
In the distance, the cathedral gleamed, drawing me to its safety, only just a few wing-beats away.  
I nearly died from a heart attack when loud aggressive cooing filled the air.  
Three pigeons flew straight for me, talons open ready to catch me. I narrowly dodged them, spiraling out of their way. I flapped my wings as fast as they could go, but the pigeons were quickly gaining on me. I needed a plan. Yes, my plan was crazy, but I was desperate.  
The pigeons were surprised to see me turn around and fly right for them. While they were taken aback, I swiftly tucked in my wings and shot through between two of them. Knowing they weren't far behind, I dove down straight for the street. With the pigeons in hot pursuit, I dodged moving human metal machines. My echolocation gave me the advantage against the pigeons. They nearly got hit more times than I could count. Loud horns filled the air from the metal machines.  
I was surprised to find that I wasn't afraid. My fear was replaced by exhilaration and excitement. The pigeons on the other wing, cooed in terror as one of them got hit by a metal machine. But that didn't stop the other two. More determined than ever, they picked up speed and were hot on my tail.  
With no other idea of ditching them, I flew even lower and raced and dodged under the machines. Only one of the pigeons was brave enough to dare follow me. My excitement grew as black wheels zoomed by us. One wrong move and that would be it for me. If I flew too high the bottom of the metal machines will crush me. If I fly too low I'd skid across the street and be flattened by the wheels.  
Making a sharp turn, I cut across traffic. A wheel nearly hit me while zooming out of the street and into an ally.  
The pigeon following me was gaining. I saw the second pigeon coming strait ahead. Thinking fast I waited until the last second before pulling up. The two pigeons crashed into each other and fell to the ground.  
Panting from exhaustion I beat my tired wings towards the cathedral. My back stung with pain and my head pounded from the headache.

* * *

Unaware to Pandora, two sinister giant bats silently followed her back to the cathedral. They roosted on the ledge of a building not far from it, patiently waiting for her to emerge.  
It was Goth who made the plan to wait a little longer. He wanted the trust of this northern bat. If they frightened her, she might refuse to help them. They would wait until the right moment came. There would be no mistakes.  
Both of them were impressed at how well the small bat had handled herself with the pigeons.  
Goth thoughtfully stroked his goatee. She seemed clever, intelligent and she kept her wits about her in tough situations. Not to mention the little bat is exquisite.  
She could be just what he's been looking for.  
The perfect mate for his son.


	14. Echoprojection

**You know the drill, I do not own Silverwing. I only own Pandora, Brett, Samantha and Padro.**

Chapter 14 Echoprojection

I flew into the spire and landed next to Zephyr, who was sorting through some herbs. Below us, the pigeon slept on peacefully. No one else seemed to be in the spire.  
"Zephyr?"  
"Yes?" he pleasantly turned and faced me, "Is there something you want to talk about?"  
With his hearing, he knew good and well about my band. But it was considerate that he was letting me decide to talk about it.  
"Well…as you know, I've been banded."  
"Yes," he tilted his head thoughtfully, "Never seen one quite like that before ether…Strange markings. Each band has different markings, you know. May I?"  
I held out my wrist as Zephyr gingerly tapped a claw to the metal, scanning the band with sound.  
"Is there a way to get it off?"  
He shook his head, "Not that I know of."  
"I was afraid of that."  
Sensing my disappointment, Zephyr placed a wing on my shoulder.  
"This band can't change you, Pandora. Its purpose is unknown, but your friends and family will still love you. Band, or no band."  
I was amazed at how well Zephyr could sense what I was feeling.  
We heard the pigeon start to moan, waking up from sleep. The two of us cautiously flew down and landed next to her.  
At first she was alarmed, but then relaxed when she recognized me.  
I took a few steps closer, "How's your wing?"  
She flexed it, "Much better, thank you."  
"You're wing was only sprained," Zephyr explained calmly, "You can fly, but you'll need to rest it every so often."  
She slowly stood up.  
"You won't tell anyone we're here, will you?" I nervously asked her.  
She shook her head, "No. I now know that Silverwings are innocent and had nothing to do with the murders."  
"I'm sorry about what happened earlier," I remembered Shade almost getting her killed; "He didn't mean it."  
The pigeon smiled, "I know he didn't. He helped save me. And so did you." She kindly looked me in the eye, "Thank you."  
She then spread her wings and flew out of the tower.  
"So, where are the others?" I asked, turning to Zephyr.  
"When you didn't come back they got worried and went out looking for you."  
"How long have I been gone?"  
"Most of the night. It's almost sunrise. But don't worry, they'll be back soon."  
I helped him sort through herbs as we talked.  
"Did Brett and Samantha leave tonight?"  
"They waited a few hours for you, but they had to leave or they would have been behind another night."  
I sadly nodded, "I understand. I just wish I could have seen them before they left."  
"You might see then again someday."  
I hoped he was right.  
It wasn't long before Shade and Marina came back. Marina hugged me while Shade hung back, feeling guilty about earlier. But I surprised him when I held Shade in a tight embrace.  
"Pandora, I'm so sorry about what happened," he apologized as he returned the hug. "I don't know what came over me."  
"It's ok, Shade. I've already forgiven you. Now you need to forgive yourself."  
Behind us, Marina gasped in shock.  
I whirled around, "What? What's wrong?"  
Silently, Marina slowly pointed at my forearm. Shade's jaw dropped. My silver band gleamed in the dim light.  
"Yeah…it's been a long a night." I sheepishly folded my wings, feeling embarrassed under their unreadable gazes.  
"What happened?" Shade asked in astonishment.  
Taking a deep breath, I told them everything. The colorful bird, the crazy human with the broom, the cage, the kind man, how I got the silver band, the bird rescuing me and the pigeons. I didn't mention anything about what Padro told me concerning the cannibal bats. On one wing it was hard for me to believe it. And I didn't want it to be true. On the other wing, I didn't want to panic my friends. I mean, its not like we will ever see giant bats. Right?  
I held out my arm as Marina studied it with fascinated interest.  
"Wow," Marina eyed my band, "I've never seen another band before. And it has markings, just like mine!"  
I nodded, trying to share Marina's enthusiasm. When Marina was done, Shade lit up as he if he remembered something.  
"Guess what! You remember that bat from a few nights ago? He was an Echoprojection!"  
I raised my eyebrows, "An Echoprojection?"  
Zephyr grinned, "It's a image made purely of sound."  
"He's agreed to teach us!" Shade beamed.

* * *

The next night we all got up early so Zephyr could begin teaching us.  
"What I have to show you, you must be ready to listen." Zephyr began, "Only one in a million bats can Echoproject." He picked up a spiraled herb, "First, there are a few skills you'll need to master."  
"Like what?" Shade impatiently flew to the beam Zephyr was on.  
"Oh like uh…sound mapping, star navigation and uh...herbal remedies."  
"Herbal remedies?" Shade frowned; disappointed we weren't going straight to Echoprojection, "What if I get cornered by an owl? Throw leaves at him?"  
I rolled my eyes as he chuckled at his own joke. Marina moved next to Zephyr as he cast out a net of sound, measuring Shade.  
"You obviously cannot use your size to overpower the enemy."  
"He's sensitive about his size." Marina whispered to Zephyr.  
He walked over to Shade, "The more you know the better chance you'll have against stronger predators." In the blink of an eye, Zephyr put his foot behind Shade's as he pushed him down to the ground, proving his point. "Do you understand?"  
"Oh…I see." Shade smiled, "I'm ready."

* * *

Marina, Shade and I roosted in the gargoyles mouth watching Zephyr as he tested us with everything he's been teaching us.  
For the past two nights the three of us had been learning about everything Zephyr threw at us. Marina was by far the best at herbal remedies. Shade was bored to tears, but star mapping hooked me. Thanks to Zephyr, I now could read the stars like the back of my wing. My favorite star is the brightest one in the sky. Zephyr told me it always points south. When we'll continue our journey, we can use the star to stay on course. Sometimes while hunting, I would connect the stars to see imaginary pictures in the night sky. But sometimes I would get this creepy feeling someone's watching me. It was probably nothing, but freaky none the less.  
Zephyr held up a leaf for us to identify.  
"Stinging nettle!" Marina instantly answered.  
"Hey," Shade frowned, "I was gonna say that."  
I rolled my eyes, "Sure you were."  
"Used for what?" Zephyr turned expectantly to the small bat, "Shade?"  
Shade sat in thought for a minute before Marina blurted out the answer.  
"Aching joints!"  
"Oh, that'll come in handy," Shade scowled sarcastically, "When I'm old."  
"We've been at this for almost two whole nights and you still haven't gotten around to Echoprojection." Shade complained as he stretched, "Just constellations and boring herbs."  
"Well I for one think learning about the stars is fun." I frowned at him, "And knowing the stars will help us get home."  
Zephyr began poking holes in a leaf, "She's right, Shade. You will need this knowledge for the journey ahead." He held up the leaf, "What is it?"  
Shade glared, "A leaf?"  
"And?" Zephyr's voice carried a hint of impatience.  
The three of us thought about it as I took the leaf from Zephyr. Realizing what it was, the three of us smiled and I held up the leaf to the sky. A constellation shined brightly from the holes.  
"Well done!" Zephyr congratulated us, "The three of you are beginning to use your brains!"  
"Now can I learn Echoprojection?" Shade asked hopefully.  
Zephyr smiled and walked back into the tower, signaling for us to follow.  
"Shade pumped his fist in the air, "Alright!"  
We eagerly followed after our teacher.

The three of us sat in a line in front of Zephyr. To my right sat Marina with Shade in the middle. Marina decided just to watch us do it.  
"Capture the object with your heart," Zephyr instructed "Listen to it form in your imagination."  
Shade closed his eyes in concentration.  
"Once you can hear it, sing it."  
"Can you see it?" Shade grunted claws on his temples.  
Marina frowned, "See what?"  
"A giant bat. Like the gargoyles." Shade grunted, "With huge claws…and teeth!"  
"Uh…that would be a no." Marina wasn't impressed.  
Shade opened his eyes and sighed in frustration.  
Zephyr turned to me, "Pandora, why don't you try it? But use something simpler, like a…a leaf."  
Closing my eyes, I remembered that strange red leaf that Zephyr gave me to sleep. Imagining the weird veins, the red texture and the pointy shape, I sang the image. I wasn't sure if it was working until Shade and Marina gasped in aw.  
My eyes popped open and I saw Zephyr's proud face.  
"Excellent job, Pandora." Zephyr beamed, "You had it's every detail."  
I smiled at Shade. "Isn't it fun?"  
Marina shot Shade a cocky grin, "Looks like Pandora won this round."  
Shade glared at us, "Show offs."  
"Try again, Shade. But try to project a leaf." Zephyr patiently advised.  
Frowning in frustration, Shade shut his eyes and gripped his head in concentration.  
He hummed and before us, a sparkly outline of a leaf took shape before fading away.  
"Well done, Shade!" Zephyr stated, pleased.  
Shade sighed in disappointment, "But I couldn't hold it. It's gotta be longer," he held up his wings, "And bigger and scarier!"  
Zephyr placed a concerned wing on Shade's shoulder, "Your emotions are getting in the way, Shade. Take a break and stretch your wings, all three of you."  
We stood up as Shade tried to protest.  
"You can pick some stinging nettle for me!" Zephyr smiled, not listening to Shade. "A patch of it grows in an alley not far from the cathedral."  
All three of us made our way outside. Before we left, I heard Zephyr say, "Keep alert, and listen."  
We stuck close to the shadows to avoid the searching eyes of any pigeons that might be nearby. When we finally found the ally Zephyr mentioned, we made sure the coast was clear before landing next to the plant.  
"I'll pick, you two stand guard." Marina offered.  
Shade stubbornly protested, "What are we gonna guard against, a plant?"  
He grabbed the stem and began pulling.  
Rolling my eyes, I groaned, "Shade, do you have to rebel against everything?"  
But he wasn't listening. With a final tug, the stinging nettle popped out and the stubborn little bat was soon sprawled out on the ground.  
Walking over to him, a giggle escaped my throat, "You totally deserved that."  
"Hey!" Shade was obviously offended, "I pulled it out, didn't I?"  
"Um…" Marina tried to interject, "Guys?"  
I huffed, "You just have to go against everyone, don't you?"  
Shade frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Guys!" Marian yelled.  
At the same time, Shade and I yelled, "WHAT?!"  
Shade turned to Marina, "What is it?"  
With a expression of horror, the brightwing slowly pointed behind us. Shade whirled around and let out a terrified gasp.  
My ears lowered as endless ideas of terror flew through my mind. Holding my breath, I slowly turned to face the tallest owl I had ever seen. I shank back under it's deadly glare. With a scream trapped in my throat, the only sound that escaped my throat was, "Crap."


	15. Going My Way?

**Well, here it is! The part where the heroes meet Goth and Throbb!  
(I don't own Silverwing. I only own Pandora.)  
P.S  
While I don't answer reviews often, I always read each and every one of them and I do appreciate them.  
**

Chapter 15 Going My Way?

Cold, murderous eyes bore down on the three of us. As I slowly took careful steps back, the owl raised his wings as it let out an ear piercing screech.  
Thinking fast, Shade raised the stinging nettle and hit the owl straight across the face!  
The would-be attacker screeched in both pain and fury. The owl stumbled back and fell to the ground, then vanished in a bust of silvery light! Shade dropped the plant in astonishment while Marina and I gaped at where the owl vanished. The three of us shared confused expressions. But our attention was soon on a small bat, dancing and laughing in delight. It was Zephyr! That sneaky little bat fooled us with an Echoprojection! Relieved that it was only an illusion, we soon laughed along with him.

* * *

Throbb watched in fascination at the bats below him. He sat atop a building above the little group. His mind rattled with bafflement. Wasn't there an owl there a second ago? Throbb rubbed his temples as he muttered, "Dulce Zotz... This cursed wasteland is freezing my senses."  
No matter.  
Goth would be back soon and Throbb would be free to hunt. Instead of eating the small bats like he wanted, Goth insisted on watching them for a few nights. They would take shifts every few hours and Throbb was sick of it.  
Throbb had an undying desire to make a small feast on these pathetic northern bats, but Goth was convinced these worthless creatures were the key to finding the way home to their warm, lush jungle.  
If he wasn't so terrified of Goth, Throbb would have eaten those bats long ago.  
He shivered as gust of cold wind stung his wings. This did nothing to improve his mood.

* * *

Later that night in the mouth of the gargoyle, Shade, Marina and I began saying our good byes to Zephyr. I was really sad at the thought of leaving, but we couldn't delay any more than we already had. Zephyr helped us so much. Besides learning about herbs, stars and echoprojection, Zephyr taught me how to sing the sound map to Shade! After I explained that I would feel more comfortable if someone else knew it to, Zephyr was more that happy to teach me. Granted it took a whole night, but it was worth it. At least now someone could help me figure out the landmarks.  
Saying good bye to Zephyr was one of the saddest farewells I've ever experienced.  
None of us talked much as we flew through the city, a little depressed of leaving Zephyr. Shade flew in the front, while Marina behind us.  
Lost in my thoughts, I almost didn't hear Marina scream our names. Glancing behind me, I was horrified to see an owl flying strait towards me!  
I screamed fearfully and tried to fly faster.  
"Relax," Shade called over to me, unconcerned with the owl, "Zephyr's just trying to scare us with another Echoprojection."  
I barely had time to wonder if this was true or not, when I suddenly found myself in the talons of an owl!  
A scream filled with terror came out of me as I desperately tried to wiggle out of cold, sharp talons.  
Shade (who was convinced the owl was real now) and Marina tried to attack the owl, but it just casually batted them away with it's wings.  
"PANDORA!" I heard Marina screamed desperately.  
How was I going to get out of this one?

* * *

Shade and Marina flew as fast as their wings could carry them in attempt to catch up to Pandora and her captor.  
But large shadow passed over the two of them, and they faltered in the air.  
Shade gasped, "Is that…?"  
"No," Marina whispered in shock, "It can't be…"

* * *

I struggled in the owl's tight grasp, but to no avail. Wondering what horrible fate awaited me, I didn't notice someone fly up next to owl until a deep silky Spanish voice whispered a greeting in creepy sort of way that made my fur stand on end.  
 _"Hola…"_  
Fearfully, I looked to my left and my jaw dropped as my whole body tensed. Before my very eyes was a _giant_ bat. Why, he was just as big as the owl! He had strong, powerful dark violet wings that curled up at the ends, wind blew back his long brown-red hair, he had a well groomed goatee, his frame was muscular and he had long pointy ears, but his eyes were his most noticeable feature. They were emerald green and they shined deviously with intelligence and cunning, indicating him to be untrustworthy.  
Amused by my astonishment, the spectral bat shot me a smirk then turned its attention to the owl who was just as astonished.  
The giant bat boldly cut off the owl's path and it's grip tightened on me. A challenge had been issued, and the owl was accepting it. As the owl and the giant bat charged at each other, I braced myself for the fight. The two collided, and in their tussle I hadn't a clue which way was up or down. My head started spinning and before I knew it, the owl was falling through the air. Whether it was dead or just injured I didn't know, nor did I care. But it's hold loosened on me, and I flew away in a frenzy.  
I landed on a roof, completely out of breath. The giant bat was no where to be seen. However the owl was back in the sky, and charged when it caught sight of me. Fear and exhaustion rooted me to the spot. Just when I thought it was over for me, the giant bat came out of nowhere and clung to the back of the owl.  
The force of the impact sent the owl crashing onto the roof of the building. And in a quick merciless act, the giant bat sank it's fangs into the owl's neck.  
There was a loud sickening crack.  
The owl's lifeless body dropped from the bats jaws.  
I watched all this in mute horror. I thought about flying away, but his head sharply turned in my direction. Blood freckled his mouth. I was rooted to the stop in true terror. As we stood there staring at each other, I wondered if he saw me as just another bat or his next meal. Instead of pouncing on me, he licked the blood off his mouth, formed a pleasant poster and curled his lips into a far too polite smile.  
"Are you…alright?"  
I nodded and tried to say 'thank you' but only a terrorized squeak came out of my throat.  
He chuckled in amusement and took a few steps towards me, but halted when I lowered my ears and hissed instinctively.  
My small frame didn't threaten him in the slightest, but he stopped none the less.  
"Please forgive me, senorita," he apologized in a sincere voice, "I did not mean to frighten you."  
He portrayed himself in a polite, concerned manner, but I couldn't help feel like it was an act.  
"Pandora! Are you ok?" Marina cried out as she and Shade landed next to me. Marina gave me a small hug then both of them looked over at the strange bat.  
"Pandora, who is that?" Shade whispered, awed by how big the stranger was.  
Before I could answer his question, another giant bat swooped low over our heads and landed next to the dead owl while licking his chops. He was much smaller than the other one, his wings were a deep shade of teal, he had long turquoise hair and a pointy goatee, but instead of a muscular form like his companion he was short and obese.  
We watched as the shorter one eagerly walked over to the carcass, but was stopped by the taller one. He gave the first bat a confused look, but relaxed when he caught sight of us.  
The first bat sighed softly before giving the three of us a warm smile.  
"Pardon my manners. I am Goth. And this," he nodded his head towards the shorter one, "Is my brother in law Throbb."  
Throbb grunted as if it were a greeting  
"Um… Hi." Shade choked out, but managed to clear his throat, "I'm Shade, and this is Marina and Pandora."  
Much to my disliking, the two of them flew over to where we were standing. I felt so small compared to them. I lowered my ears as I took a few steppes back. I glared hoping they would keep their distance from me.  
Goth took the obvious impression that I wasn't fond of them.  
He apologetically gave a slight bow, "Please accept my deepest apologies, I hope you weren't hurt during that little uh…fight."  
I nervously answered, "No, I'm fine." But I added in a more suspicious tone, "Why did you save me?"  
His lips curled into a charming smile, "I was flying by and when I saw that owl abduct you, I couldn't just do nothing."  
Don't think for one minute I forgot about Padro's warning. I didn't know the real reason behind Goth's act of rescue, but I knew it wasn't for _my_ benefit.  
"You're the ones who killed the pigeons!" Shade exclaimed with excitement.  
"How did you know that?"  
"Because they caught us and wanted to know who you were." Marina answered.  
Loosing interest on the conversation, Throbb flew back over to the dead owl.  
What was he doing?  
"Did they attack you? Shade asked with growing interest.  
Goth laughed as if Shade told a good joke, "Pigeons? No, we were hungry."  
Shade, Marina and I jumped in union at the fur lifting sound of ripping flesh. We looked at Throbb in time to see him gulp down a chunk of the owl's flesh down his throat.  
I felt dizzy as my stomach did back flips. Marina looked like she was going to be sick, and Shade turned pale. There was a horrible stench of blood.  
"You're not meat eaters?" Goth asked with interest.  
"No." Shade bluntly replied.  
"You're welcome to try some."  
I looked away while answering, "No thank you."  
"Where I am from, my entire species eats meat. I am sorry if it alarms you."  
"Where _are_ you from?" Marina asked.  
"My home is in the lush jungle in the south. The humans captured us, but we managed to escape a few nights ago. Look."  
Goth held us his forearm to reveal a thick black metal band. Marina sucked in her breath. We looked over at Throbb to discover he had one too. But quickly looked away when he slurped up owl intestines.  
"Escaped?" Marina frowned.  
Goth nodded at me and Marina's bands, "You have been their prisoners too, I see."  
"They didn't imprison us." Marina was aghast.  
 _'Speak for yourself'_ I thought as I remembered the cage that crazy human with the broom put me in.  
"They didn't take you to their false jungle?"  
I shared confused looks with Marina and Shade who were dumb founded.  
"All we want is to get back home in the south," Goth gestured towards the night sky, "But can not read these northern stars."  
"You could travel with us." Shade excitingly offered.  
Marina gasp as I whirled around to stare at him. Was he crazy?!  
Shade continued impulsively, "Were headed south to my colony."  
"That is very generous of you! But you can read these stars, yes?"  
"Pandora knows the stars like the back of her wing!"  
Right then and there I could have killed Shade on the spot. The minuet he blurted that out, Goth stared at me with an unreadable expression. I wasn't fond of the way he eyed me.  
"So you'll come with us, then?" Shade asked hopefully.  
"We would be delighted!" Goth answered gratefully, "And in return, allow us to offer…our _protection._ "  
"Wait a minuet," I interjected, not comfortable with where this was going, "I'm not so sure"-  
"Is there a problem, senorita?" There was something deadly in his voice.  
More than anything I wanted to say yes, yes I do have a problem traveling with two GIANT MEAT EATING bats that could easily kill me in a second. But for that last reason I bit my lip, forced a smile, and in the sweetest voice I could muster, replied, "No, no problem at all."


	16. Dark Allies

**The only character I own is Pandora Silverwing**

Chapter 16 Dark Allies

"I don't trust them." Marina whispered while glancing at Goth and Throbb who flew behind us.  
We had been traveling with the two giants for almost two nights, but I only grew more paranoid with every wing beat. Shade seemed to like them okay, but he wasn't exactly the best judge of character.  
"Will you two stop being so single-minded?" Shade asked in annoyance, "I feel a lot safer traveling with them, and so should you."  
Quickly I cast a glance over my shoulder to make sure Goth and Throbb weren't listening. The two of them were softly speaking in Spanish, deep in conversation. Turning my attention back to Shade, I harshly whispered at him.  
"How can you possibly feel safe with those two? Goth killed an owl in less than five minutes and they both slaughtered who knows how many pigeons!"  
A few nights ago, when Marina, Shade and I were alone, I had told them about what Padro had told me. Marina seemed horrified, but Shade dismissed it as nothing but bird lies.  
Anger was in Shade's voice as he whispered back, "He _saved_ your life! I would have thought you'd be on my side."  
My fur went red with anger, "I highly doubt he did it for my own benefit, Shade! They're lost and they need us for directions. Don't be so naïve!"  
"I say we ditch them," Proposed Marina. She turned to Shade, "Didn't your mother ever teach you, stranger danger?"  
Shade made it obvious that he didn't agree with the plan.  
"Come on, Shade," Marina whispered desperately, "We don't need them."  
"Don't need who?" asked a silky Spanish voice behind us.  
My heart nearly burst out of my chest as Marina and I faltered in the air. Neither one of us had noticed Goth behind us and he stared at us suspiciously.  
"Oh, uh…" I began nervously, "Marina was referring to…uh…oh, darn! I can't even remember what we were talking about. Don't you just hate it when that happens?"  
Goth hummed suspiciously.  
He was not convinced.  
Thankfully, Marina came to my rescue by announcing it was two hours before sunrise.  
After we found a roost we split up for the nights hunting. It felt nice to have some alone time and reflect on things. However, I've been having a sneaky suspicion that Goth and Throbb keep us under careful watch. Shade hasn't been listening to a word I say now that Goth is around. I nearly choked when Shade blabbered all about his sound map to Hibernaculum, the great battle and the law that forbade us from seeing the sun. At least he didn't tell him I have a sound map too, not that I think it would matter much. But the less Goth and Throbb knew, the safer I felt. Shade listens to Goth for hours and agrees with anything and everything he says. Not only was Shade amazed by their size, but he was down right awed when Goth bragged about being king of his colony. I didn't care one way or the other, but it was unbearable to hear his boasting. He made Chinook seem modest.  
However when Goth talks to me directly, instead of the constant bragging, he would engage me in conversations about his homeland. He talked about the warm heat, the lush colorful landscape bright with flowers and plants and fruit, the stars there were brighter and more numerous, and he described the insects there to be succulent and big enough that only two or three would fill me for an entire night.  
I hated to admit it, but I loved listening to him describe the jungle. It was not the insects that captivated me, but the heat the colors and especially the stars. The cold wind was always so harsh in winter, there weren't any bright colors due to the freezing rain and ice everywhere and I craved to see the stars that sound so dazzling.  
Another thing he likes telling me about was his son, Andrew. He'd bore me so much on this topic that I often zoned out. It was nice he would talk about someone else for a change, but I really didn't care. It was always "Andrew this", and "Andrew that."  
Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to the stars.

* * *

Marina and Shade were hunting alone, scouting the river bank for insects. Marina tried once again to convince Shade to leave Goth and Throbb. But the stubborn bat wouldn't see reason. The two were getting into a heated argument when a strangled squeal interrupted them and they both saw Goth fly by with a rat thrashing in his jaws.  
Marina pressed the argument, "It doesn't bother you that their eating half the forest?"  
"We eat bugs," Shade impatiently pointed out, "That probably grosses them out. What does it matter anyway?"  
Marina frowned in annoyance, "Well just remember, because of your new _friends_ , bats are being hunted by every beast and bird. And every time they kill an owl, rat or pigeon, the birds and the beasts will want revenge."  
She rustled her wings and flew away to hunt alone for the rest of the night.

* * *

Goth violently tore off a hunk of meat from the pathetic rat he managed to kill. He sat chewing thoughtfully. This was the second night traveling with Shade, Pandora and Marina.  
They proved useful to have around. The trees here confused him; some were pointy and leafless while others were covered with needles. It was Marina who found them a place to roost, in an abandoned woodpecker hole. Pandora and Shade were able to navigate with her knowledge of the night skies and with his sound map. And Shade showed him how to drink from the stream by breaking the frozen water. They called it ice.  
Ice. What a horrible thing. Goth loathed the cursed, frozen water. Never had he hated anything so badly. It was painful to touch, and settled deep in his bones.  
Goth growled with irritation. Soon, he wouldn't have to put up with this much longer. Ever since Shade told him all about his colony and invited him and Throbb to Hibernaculum, a sinister plan began taking shape in his mind. Goth was astonished to discover northern bats slept for months on end. But all it did was contribute to his plan. He would go with these small bats to Hibernaculum. But when they arrived, Goth and Throbb would eat their fill of bat meat to survive this cursed winter. He would pick them off, one by one in their sleep. They would eat Shade and Marina too. As for Pandora, he had something special planned for her.  
Before the disgusting humans captured him, his son Andrew had come of age to mate. It was traditional for the king to choose the mate for the prince. There were several eligible females, but none of them seemed right for his son. Not only did Goth want to find someone beautiful, but he wanted his future son's mate to be intelligent, quick thinking, and above all, unable to murder his son. Goth's grandmother had murdered her husband to rule the colony herself. He didn't want that to happen to Andrew. Before Goth's capture he swore to his son that he would find a bat with beauty, intelligence and not able to kill him. Goth was beginning to give up – until he found Pandora.


	17. In a Pickle

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy this one. I'd also like to thank everyone who has written encouraging reviews!  
The only character I own is Pandora Silverwing.  
**  
Chapter 17 In a Pickle

"The jungle is an explosion of color," Goth told us dramatically, "The sun radiates warmth on our wings and our bellies are never empty."  
This was the third night with Goth and Throbb. I roosted on a branch of a dead oak, right next to Marina. Shade was roosting next to Goth and Throbb, hanging on to every word that came out of Goth's mouth. Throbb became bored of the conversation once again, and then flew off to hunt.  
"Wow," Shade awed, "I'll bet there's nothing your afraid of."  
"Nothing," Goth carried pride in his voice, "Only the hawk and vulture match our strength. But they don't dare attack us."  
Marina, Shade and I suddenly tensed at the distant hoot of an owl.  
"You live in constant fear of them, don't you?" Goth noticed.  
"Well, we can't exactly fight them, and win." I answered flatly.  
Goth thought for a moment.  
"I could bring an army of my species up from the south. And end this persecution once and for all."  
We all did a double take.  
I turned sharply to him, "What?"  
Goth pointed to my cousin, "You Shade, could be my commander in chief."  
Shade looked astonished.  
Goth continued dramatically, "I think you have the makings to become a great warrior!"  
While Shade's eyes gleamed with excitement, Marina and I shared a sideways glance. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.  
"Your father must be proud." Added Goth.  
Shade's shoulders slumped slightly and he stared at the ground, "I don't have a father. Cassiel – my dad – disappeared while hunting one night. They say the owls got him."  
Goth put a wing on Shade's shoulder while sighing in a sympathic tone, "A boy without a father."  
But when Shade wasn't looking, Goth's lips curled up into a sinister smile that made my fur stand on end. Marina shared a look with me, indicating that she saw it too.

It was two hours before sunset and Shade, Marina and I were hunting together. Marina was in a particularly bad mood. Before we went to hunt, Shade had asked Goth if he knew why humans band bats. Goth insisted that bands were nothing more than a symbol of imprisonment. Of course Marina suggested that the bands might mean something special, but Goth just laughed and called her amusing. This resulted in a peeved Brightwing, and now she and Shade were _not_ getting along. Afterwards, Marina had spent a good while trying to convince Shade the two giants were bad news, but surprise, surprise, Shade wouldn't listen. It turned out to be an offensive heated argument between them, and I wisely stayed out of it. However, I was in an awkward situation. Both of them talked to me like the other wasn't there.  
"Pandora," Marina began as she ignored Shade, "Don't you find it amazing how naïve males can be?"  
"Did you hear something Pandora?" Shade looked around pretending Marina wasn't there, "Maybe it was the wind."  
"Enough!" I scream, startling the two, "You both are acting like newborns! I understand each of you have different opinions, but we can not afford to fight with each other. Not with every other creature in the forest hunting us."  
Both of them seemed slightly ashamed of their antics.  
I continued in a calmer voice, "Why don't we all just hunt alone for the rest of the night? It will give us time to cool down and by tomorrow night, maybe we can come to some kind of agreement. Ok?"  
They both silently nodded and flew off.

* * *

Goth was picking the meat out of his teeth in the branches of a dead tree. Food was becoming harder to find and the nights became colder and colder. He tightened his wings around himself, but the freezing wind cut through his wings anyway. Curse almighty Zotz, Goth couldn't wait for this daymare to end. Goth was however beginning to recognize a few of the stars. In just a few more nights, he might be able to navigate himself.  
Throbb roosted next to him carrying a sparrow in his jaws.  
"Why don't we just eat them," Throbb whined. "We can find our own way south."  
"Keep your voice down!" Goth hissed as he saw Shade chasing a tiger moth a few yards away. "Be patient, have some self control. And remember," Goth looked Throbb in the eye ominously, _"I like bat too."_  
Throbb shivered as he took a few steps back.  
Goth hadn't told Throbb his plans, and he wouldn't. Not yet anyway. Long ago, he discovered it was best to keep plans to yourself. He wanted everything to go smooth.  
Goth's thoughts returned to the three small bats. While Shade seemed to trust them, the Brightwing doubted them, he could tell. It was obvious to Goth that Pandora had her suspicions as well. Goth felt confident that Pandora wouldn't leave without Shade. He couldn't afford to loose the two Silverwings, and if Marina were to sway them…  
Goth turned sharply to Throbb.  
"You want a bat so badly? Find the Brightwing, and kill her!"

* * *

Shade was getting worried. It was only one hour before sunrise, but he couldn't find her anywhere. With the owls everywhere, it was dangerous to be alone for long. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Shade was about to head over to the roost in case she went back, but he caught sight of Throbb hunched over something on a branch of a pine tree.  
Relieved to see him, Shade flew towards the giant bat. But that relief was soon replaced by sickening horror when his echoes bounced back. A wing was sprawled out from behind Throbb, but instead of the usual feathery wing, Shade's echoes revealed the wing to be bright, bare and made of membrane.  
Throbb was eating a Brightwing.  
Thinking fast, Shade sharply wheeled and dived behind a tree and pressed against the bark. But it was too late. Shade's hopes of not being seen were snuffed out as Throbb called his name.  
"Shade? Is that you? Shade!"  
Crouched in his hiding spot, Shade saw Throbb slowly turning around, searching for him with beams of sound. A repulsive stench heavy with blood nearly made Shade gag. The Brightwing's head fell from Throbb's bloody jaws and rolled to one side. A wave of relief washed over Shade. The unfortunate Brightwing was not Marina. That meant she must be back at the roost. Feeling faint, Shade dropped from the tree, opened his wings and flew for all he was worth.  
"Shade!"  
He stayed well below the trees, knowing Throbb's wings were too wide to follow him. Shade flashed through the tight weave of trees and foliage, ducking and flipping from side to side almost on to his back sometimes to avoid getting impaled by a pointy twig, or crashing onto a tree trunk.  
Above the tree line, Shade could hear Throbb cursing as he tried to pinpoint the Silverwing with waves of sound. Silently, without disturbing a single leaf, Shade tucked in his wings while banking back tightly, Shade darted back the way he'd come. He did this twice more until he no longer could hear Throbb's crackling wings beats behind him. Shade rushed backed to the roost in hopes he could find Pandora and Marina.

When Shade reached the stone hollow, he spread out a web of sound in case Goth was around. Satisfied that the giant wasn't there, Shade flew for the opening, but stopped at the last minute. What if Throbb had beat him back to the roost?  
"Marina?" Shade softly called, "Pandora?"  
"I'm in here." Replied Marina's voice.  
Dumb luck was on his side. With a burst of energy the small bat shot through the tunnel and into the stone hollow. There she was, Marina was roosting on the wall, grooming her wings. Shade had never been happier to see her, even if she glared coldly at him, still mad at him. But a deep pit formed in his stomach when he noticed Pandora wasn't there.  
"Marina, we have to get out of here!" he panted, out of breath.  
She gave him a strange look, "Why? What happened to you?" She asked critically, taking note that he was covered in sweat, dirt and grime.  
"I saw Throbb _eating_ a bat! We have to get out of here!"  
Marina gasped as her face paled, but she didn't waste any time flying out of the roost with Shade.  
"Do you know where Pandora is?" he asked her. Shade didn't like how fear-stricken Marina looked after he asked that.  
"She went to the stream for a last minute drink before sunrise!" Marina gasped.  
Shade sighed in relief. "Well, that's not so bad. We can get her, and then get the heck out of here."  
Marina shook her head, "It's not going to be so easy. Goth went with her."

* * *

After having my fill of the cool refreshing water from the river, I looked around for Goth. He had insisted on accompanying me in case I had unexpected encounters with any owls. Spotting him on a nearby branch, I roosted next to him, but looked away in disgust as he swallowed a mouse whole. The tale was wiggling as he slowly slurped it up, indicating the poor creature to have been swallowed alive. Puke was rising in my throat and I felt a little faint.  
"Is something wrong senorita?" Goth asked as he sighed in satisfaction of the snack, "You look a little green."  
"I'm fine," I swayed as I tried to settle the butterflies in my stomach, "Lets just get back to the roost."  
We raised our wings preparing for flight, but stopped as Throbb hurriedly flew towards us. He landed next to Goth completely exhausted. When he regained his breath, he whispered loudly into Goth's ear, "We have a problem."  
Throbb frowned as he cocked his head at me, letting Goth know he wanted this to be a private conversation.  
I raised an eyebrow as Goth excused them. They flew over to a tree a few yards away. They talked in hushed whispers, but I caught a few pieces of what Throbb was saying, "…he saw me eating a… I checked the roost… Cant find them…"  
When Throbb finished, he looked really nervous as Goth seemed to want to strangle him on the spot. After a moment of unnerving silence, they both glanced at me with unreadable expressions. You could just see the gears moving inside Goth's mind as he stood there watching me. Starting to feel uncomfortably nervous, I asked, "Did something happen? …Is everything ok?"  
"It seems we'll have to make a few changes around here, senorita." Goth drawled in a thoughtful voice.  
Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he lunged from his roost and quicker than I could blink, roughly grabbed me by my shoulders with his talons! Throbb lighted from his branch to join Goth in the air.  
"Hey!" I yelled, "What are you doing?!"  
Ignoring my question, Goth turned his attention back to Throbb.  
"You idiot!" Goth exploded at Throbb making him cringe back, "Why didn't you kill Marina like I told you too?"  
"WHAT?!" I shrieked, feeling miserably alone.  
"I thought I did," Throbb defended himself. "It was a Brightwing all alone, and I killed it…but then I realized it wasn't her. And then…"  
"And then what, Throbb?" Goth asked, his patience wearing thin.  
"And then the runty one saw."  
Goth roared in raging anger, making me squeeze my eyes tight and my ears pressed flat in fear.  
"If you were not my brother in law, I would have eaten you a week ago." Goth seethed through his teeth, glaring daggers at Throbb, "You let two of them get away!"  
"But we don't need them anymore," Throbb reasoned, "We can find our own way south now." Throbb suddenly glared down on me, "Lets just eat her, we'll get to the jungle faster without the little bats slowing us down anyway."  
I gasped in horror as Goth's grip tightened on me.  
"I needed BOTH Silverwings! For my plans!"  
"What plans?" I asked feeling scared out of my fur.  
Again Goth ignored my question and yelled words in Spanish at Throbb. From the way things looked, I was guessing he was cursing at Throbb.  
I took this time to recover from shock. Without wasting another moment, I opened my mouth good and wide, aimed at his foot, and bit Goth harder than I ever bit anything in my whole life.


	18. Hide and Seek

Chapter 18 Hide and Seek

Goth screamed like a banshee at the unexpected pain. My stomach lurched as the taste of metallic blood gushed into my mouth, but I was satisfied to have caused pain to the psycho. He unintentionally released his hold on me. I plummeted into the air, extended my wings, and flew for my life.  
There was a list of things that could have gone wrong tonight, but being chased by two angry giant cannibals was not on it.  
Foliage zoomed by me in a blur as I madly flew through the air, desperate to get away. Throbb was soon left far behind, still exhausted and out of shape. Goth however was hot on my tail; he expertly ducked, flipped and winded his way through the trees and branches. If I thought Goth was mad earlier, he was now a raging volcano! I flew in frenzy with no real direction in mind.  
"Don't look back," the thought screamed in my head, "Keep flying, just keep flying."  
Trying to put some distance between Goth and me, I quickly weaved tightly through a cluster of dead trees with thorns covering them. Glancing back at the cannibal, my heart leapt when I saw Goth hadn't gone through the tight cluster of trees. But he quickly flew up into the air, obviously taking a rout over it. Knowing that I would never be able to out fly him, I dove for a small crevice in an oak tree and pressed myself against it. With amazing speed, Goth flew by my tree, thinking I was farther up ahead. But my heart sank when he did an immediate stop in mid air. He flew in place listening to his surroundings. I dared not breathe.  
"Go away," I silently prayed, " _Please_ just go away."  
But Goth didn't fly away. He began sniffing the area and a slow sleazy grin was soon displayed on his face. My blood froze.  
"I know you're here, Pandora," he drawled in a sing song voice, "I know your scent, it's only a matter of time till I find you."  
It was all I could do to keep myself from whimpering of true terror. It was at this moment that I realized Goth was enjoying this. He had pure joy in this cat and mouse game – but I sure didn't.  
"It doesn't matter where you go," He sneered, "You will _never_ escape me."  
A feeling of utter hopelessness consumed me as I watched Goth carefully sniffing the air, getting closer and closer to me. My fur stood strait up as Goth chuckled in delight, knowing he was near to his prey. A vivid image of being ripped apart flashed in my mind.  
Goth landed on a branch in the same tree I was in. He continued sniffing the air, now only a couple of yards away.  
And then a brilliant idea flashed in my mind, like a help response from the Great Creator Himself. There was no escape. Except one.  
Goth was now three feet away, slowly climbing down the trunk towards me.  
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to block out my panic so I could concentrate.  
He spotted me. Goth laughed cruelly, only two feet away.  
I imagined every detail, right down to the last feather.  
"This is not your lucky night, senorita." He sneered mockingly.  
He reached out to grab me, but he sharply turned his head towards a massive owl shrieking at him. The owl spread open its talons and plunged towards Goth.  
With no choice, Goth leaped into the air to fight the owl.  
I nearly cried out in relief. He fell for my echoprojection! With Goth's attention on my illusion, I flew as far away as fast as I was able. Not a minute later, Goth roared in anger far behind me – which only motivated me to fly faster. It was then that I noticed I was soaked with sweat and I was shaking viciously. Navigating from the stars, I found the direction south, and flew far away from the cannibals. A few minutes before sunrise, I found a place to roost. Before I fell asleep, my thoughts turned to Shade and Marina.  
Based on Goth and Throbb's conversation, I gathered Shade and Marina had escaped. But did that mean they abandoned me? I pushed the silly thought aside. Of course they would never abandon me. At least Shade has the sound map too. We'll just meat up at the next land mark.  
But I was all alone.  
Together, the three of us had survived anything. But now we were spilt up. And it didn't help matters now that cannibals were probably stalking us. Knowing I was on my own was about as much as I could take. My only comfort was that Shade and Marina were with each other.

* * *

Goth was furious. He couldn't explain the owl that disappeared, but Pandora was long gone. The owl vanished into thin air after he tried to bite into it. But what really mattered was Pandora escaping.  
Just then, Throbb pathetically flew towards Goth, huffing and puffing from exhaustion.  
It took all of Goth's self-control not to rip Throbb's head off. That lout couldn't do anything right. He should have done it himself. Killed Marina, made it look like an owl had struck her. Then he would have had the two Silverwings safely all to himself.  
Now the plan was ruined. Shade and Pandora knew they were bat-eaters. How could he possibly win back their trust? But Goth wasn't going to give up. And so help him, Zotz, he would not fail. Thanks to a single sample of Pandora's blood back in the city, he knew her sent. They would be able to follow her no matter where she went. And if Zotz permitted it, she will lead them back to Shade and Marina.  
But above all, Pandora _will_ marry his son. Even if it meant that Goth would have to drag that purple menace every wing-beat of the way.  
"What do we do now?" Throbb asked in his winy voice.  
"We're going to follow them," Goth told Throbb, "And we _will_ find them."


	19. Sorry

So, stuff has happened and I cannot continue with this story. However, a close friend of mine has requested to rewrite and complete Bravewing. For now she will remain anonymous as she would like to complete at least half of the story before she posts it on the internet. When the time comes I will post her name and where you can find the story. Sorry for the inconvenience.


End file.
